The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, will arrive in Tehran on 16 April for discussions with senior Iranian officials, Iranian state media reported.
Grossi will arrive in Iran on Wednesday evening and meet with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Massoud Pezeshkian, state news agency IRNA reported, citing Kazem Gharibabadi, deputy foreign minister.
The visit comes on the eve of a new round of talks between Iran and the United States on Tehran’s nuclear programme.
On 12 April, high-level talks between Iran and the United States began in Oman aimed at starting negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear programme. As reported by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei, the talks were indirect: each delegation had a separate room and exchanged messages through the Omani foreign minister.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi led the Iranian delegation, while the US side is represented by Trump’s Middle East special envoy Steve Whitkoff.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the first round of talks in Muscat took place in a “constructive atmosphere and on the basis of mutual respect”.
Iran has pushed for indirect talks, saying it will not engage in direct dialogue while US President Donald Trump’s campaign of “maximum pressure” on Tehran continues.
In 2018, Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement signed with world powers and renewed sanctions that had been lifted in exchange for curbing Tehran’s nuclear programme.
The US president had threatened to strike Iran if it did not reach an agreement with Washington. Tehran rejected the threats, calling them an “affront” to peace and security.