TEHRAN — As the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors were supposed to hold a meeting to review the case of Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities on Monday, news broke out that the meeting is most likely to be convened on Wednesday.

Russian ambassador to international organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov wrote in a tweet on Saturday, “As a matter of fact the Iranian issue will be discussed by the IAEA Board of Governors most likely on Wednesday.”

Meanwhile, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi paid a visit to Tel Aviv on Friday. The visit, at this delicate time when all parties –or most parties, better said- are actively trying to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly known as the nuclear deal, has created critical responses among many political experts. 

Reza Nasri, a legal expert, asked two questions from Grossi on his Twitter account.

“1) Mr. @rafaelmgrossi, while you're in #Israel, can you publicly clarify your position on the notion of "strategic ambiguity"? Is this a "doctrine" other countries can use to evade IAEA probes?

2) Do you think it's fair - and indicative of IAEA impartiality - that #Iran gets censored because it has not allegedly offered "technically credible" explanations on its civilian program while Israel seems entitled to hide its nuclear WMDs by officially evoking this doctrine?” Nasri asked on Friday.

The response, as predicted, was blocking him on Twitter. 

“I raised 2 questions about #Israel's doctrine of "strategic ambiguity" and the #IAEA's impartiality during DG Rafael Grossi's trip to Israel. And he saw fit to block me in response! This shows those are embarrassingly important questions, and need to be raised time and again!” he wrote on Saturday after being blocked by Grossi. 

A foreign policy expert has also warned that the current chain of events will put the Vienna talks in a catastrophic situation. 

“Netanyahu, Pompeo, Bolton, etc wanted to kill the JCPOA & start a war. And now we seem to be getting back on the path they created to a catastrophic conflict,” Sina Toosi wrote on Twitter. 

After meeting the Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Grossi tweeted, “At #Israel’s invitation, I met Prime Minister @naftalibennett in Tel Aviv this morning. Important exchanges on topical issues. I stressed the importance of @IAEAorg safeguards and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) for global peace and security.” 

A statement from Bennett’s office said he had cautioned Grossi that Iran was pushing ahead on developing a nuclear weapon while misleading the world with “false information and lies” to conceal its work, a ridiculous claim from a regime who is not even a signatory of the NPT and does not allow inspection of its nuclear sites. 

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Israel has about 90 nuclear weapons.

There has never been an inspection of the Israeli nuclear facilities by the IAEA. There has never been one single, clear, and transparent statistics of the Israeli nuclear arsenal.

Yet, they shamelessly accuse Iran of misleading the world with lies and false information. In 2020 alone, the IAEA conducted 426 inspections in Iran, according to Kelsey Davenport, Director for Nonproliferation Policy at the Arms Control Association (ACA).

Though American officials themselves are responsible for the never-ending pause in the Vienna negotiations because of their indecision, they have resorted to completely destroying the negotiations. However, they won’t be doing that themselves, as their obedient helpers drafted a resolution to be passed in the IAEA board meeting. The window of opportunity seems to be closing. The disruptive move by the E3 (France, UK, and Germany) will bring about an appropriate, effective and immediate response from Iran. This response could vary, but closing the Vienna talks could very well be one of them.