The CEO of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Mariano Grossiwas appointed this Friday in vienna by the board of governors of the nuclear agency of the UN for a second four-year term.
The Argentine diplomat, appointed by acclamation today, was the only candidate running for the position, which he assumed at the end of 2019 after the death of his predecessor, the Japanese Yukiya Amano.
The second term of grossi62 years old, will begin next December 3 and end on December 2, 2027.
The decision of the Board of Governors of the IAEAto which 35 member states belong, must be confirmed by the organization’s next general conference at the end of September.
Grossi’s first term has been marked by Conflict over Iran’s nuclear program whose verification and supervision is in the hands of the IAEA, and also by the war in Ukrainewhere the nuclear plant of Zaporizhzhya It has been under Russian occupation since March 2022.
To reduce the risks of a nuclear accident in the war zone, the IAEA director general has been trying since last year to negotiate with the warring parties the creation of a security and protection zone around the atomic power station, the largest in Europe, with its six reactors.
In that sense, grossiwarned Thursday of the risk around the Ukrainian nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhyawhich runs on emergency generators after a Russian attack.
“Every time we play with fire and if we allow this situation to continue, one day our luck will change,” he warned Thursday before the council of governors of this body of the UN in Vienna.
Grossi called for “everyone to commit to protecting the security” of the Russian-occupied plant in southern Ukraine through the creation of a special zone.
The Zaporizhzhia plant, the largest in Europelost power on Thursday and is running on diesel generators, Ukrainian nuclear power operator Energoatom said.
In addition, grossiassured last Saturday that he had had “constructive talks” with Iranian officials in Tehran, which could pave the way to resume negotiations to reactivate the 2015 nuclear agreement.
As revealed in a press conference, the regime agreed to submit to further verification measures, within the efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and clarify doubts about the nature of its nuclear program.
The agreement was announced after a meeting between the IAEA director, Rafael Grossi, in Tehran, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, so that the collaboration “returns to the right path,” the Argentine diplomat said at a press conference in Vienna. “We have put a tourniquet on the bleeding of information that we had,” said Grossi when summarizing this agreement to address pending issues such as the remains of uranium enriched to 84%, much higher than expected, or traces of artificial uranium in three facilities that Tehran never declared as part of its atomic program.
The head of the UN agency “expressed his satisfaction at having reached a common agenda” with the Iranian atomic energy organization “on cooperation measures,” the official Irna news agency noted. “There will be more inspections due to this agreement,” he explained.
Grossi pointed out that the verification measures will involve having access to certain individuals and certain materials, as well as restore control by cameras and remote measurement systems that had been disconnected. Likewise, he pointed out that there will be 50% more inspections at the Fordow plant, where these traces of 84% uranium have been detected, a level close to that necessary to manufacture a nuclear bomb.
(With information from EFE)
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Source-www.infobae.com