News - Middle East: Iran’s nuclear chief says the parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, and not the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), are in charge of the negotiations to revive the agreement.

“The Agency is not responsible for the [nuclear deal revival] negotiations. This responsibility lies with the existing parties to the JCPOA,” Mohammad Eslami, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), told reporters on Wednesday, referring to the US-abandoned agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

He said relations between Iran and the IAEA are based on the Safeguards Agreements and the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT).

The IAEA is proceeding with monitoring Iran’s peaceful nuclear program and there is no disruption in this path, he added.

Eslami’s remarks came days after the IAEA chief said that it is important to keep interacting with Iran despite slim chances of the JCPOA’s revival.

“Probably there could be a return to the negotiating table, but if the interactions between Iran and the agency are seen or assessed as bad and the cooperation is not good, the chances are zero,” Rafael Mariano Grossi said in an interview with CBC News published on Saturday.