International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi met with Iraq’s prime minister in Baghdad on Monday as part of a visit to help the country develop a peaceful nuclear programme.
“We discussed several projects in Iraq, including building a nuclear reactor for peaceful purposes,” Iraqi Education Minister Naeem Abdi told reporters after Grossi met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
Grossi said that due to growing interest in nuclear energy in the region, including the Arabian Gulf, a team of Iraqi experts would visit the agency’s headquarters in Vienna within days to hold meetings “to develop a roadmap for Iraq’s peaceful nuclear program.” nation.
“We’ve seen this in the (United Arab) Emirates, we’ve seen it in Egypt, we’ve seen it in Saudi Arabia, and of course we should see it in Iraq,” Grossi told reporters.
Iraq used to have three nuclear reactors at Tuwasa, its main nuclear research base south of Baghdad. One was destroyed by an Israeli air strike in 1981, and the other two were destroyed by U.S. warplanes during the 1991 Gulf War following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
“There is no doubt that it is crucial to unravel this complex past, and we are doing that,” Grossi said.
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