News - Middle East: The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) asserts that the agency is not saying that Iran is in possession of nuclear weapons, noting that the “judgmental gap” is among the member states.

Rafael Grossi made the remark at a press conference after the agency’s Board of Governors opening meeting in Vienna on Monday.

“We are not saying they (Iran) have nuclear weapons. We are not saying they have a military program - ‘possible military dimension’ (PMD) - so that gap, judgmental gap, is something that is in the hands of countries,” he said.

The head of the UN nuclear agency added that countries have different opinions “but we need to walk a very fine objective and impartial line.”

The IAEA chief emphasized that the agency does not make accusation as it checks in forms, explaining, “Because of the fact that we haven't received the answers we need, we cannot assure that everything is in peaceful uses.”

He reiterated his own and the IAEA’s extreme accuracy of the reports presented regarding Iran’s nuclear program.

Elsewhere in the presser, Grossi said uranium enrichment is not prohibited under international law.

“Uranium enrichment per se is not a forbidden activity, which is something my Iranian counterparts always tell me,” he said.

“One important clarification is that this material is not equivalent to nuclear weapons… the amount of material that you would need to have it,” the IAEA director general said.

In response to a question about the possibility of referring the Iranian nuclear case to the Security Council and the triggering the snapback mechanism, Grossi said, “Well, I think everything is interconnected.”

He added that the IAEA works independently from Iran-US negotiations although it supports “the bilateral negotiations” and tries “to help them in any possible way.”

It is clear that Iran's approach and behavior towards the IAEA are largely influenced by bilateral (Iran-US) negotiations, he noted, emphasizing that if progress is made in that process, Iran is likely to enhance its cooperation with the agency.

The IAEA Board of Governors started its regular June meeting in Vienna on Monday amid reports that the United States and the European troika, France, Germany, and Britain, plan to submit a draft resolution to 35-member board, creating a window to trigger the snapback of all UN sanctions on Tehran under a previous 2015 nuclear deal before the mechanism expires in October.

An IAEA resolution could further complicate nuclear talks between Iran and the United States. Tehran has already pledged to take decisive countermeasures should the snapback mechanism be activated.

Since April, Iran and the United States have held five rounds of indirect talks, mediated by Oman, on a replacement for the 2015 nuclear deal, which was derailed by the American withdrawal in 2018.

However, the talks have faced an obstacle over the US demand for Iran to stop enriching uranium under any new deal.

Iran says it will not forgo its right to uranium enrichment, which is guaranteed under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the NPT.

In response to a question about the Israeli regime’s rhetoric about a military action on Iran’s nuclear program, Grossi said the IAEA is actively seeking to de-escalate the situation.

“We are trying to solve this without the use of violence or force,” he said.

The Israeli regime has threatened to launch an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities in the coming months, amid indirect talks between Tehran and Washington over a potential nuclear agreement.

Iran has repeatedly expressed its full preparedness to give a devastating response to any foolish act by the Israeli regime.

Press TV