Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has been the focus of recent coverage of the Russian invasion with his dynamic nature and risky visit to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
After weeks of intensive negotiations about the visit, he made his way to Zaporizhia early Monday morning.
The photo he tweeted to announce his visit could have been a poster for an action film, showing 61-year-old Grossi steel-faced in front of a row of IAEA experts.
The Zaporizhzhia site has been occupied by the Russians since the conflict began, and on several occasions bombardments in the area have fueled fears of a nuclear disaster.
Despite fresh shelling in the area earlier this week, a Grossi dressed in flak jackets insisted “we’re not stopping visiting”.
“Wish us luck,” he told reporters at the plant, where he stayed for several hours.
The visit was criticized by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who said the IAEA had failed to push for the demilitarization of the site and failed to ensure access for independent media.
The Kremlin, meanwhile, described the visit as “very positive”.
Grossi had previously ventured to Ukraine in March and again a month later to Chernobyl, the scene of the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986.
– ‘Persistence’ –
Grossi will be happy to have established a permanent IAEA presence on the ground, with two inspectors expected to remain there.
“Let the world know that the IAEA stays in Zaporizhzhia,” he said after the visit, adding that his team has “much more work to do” and will try to provide impartial updates on the situation there.
Western diplomats have praised Grossi for taking on the mission.
“He’s exploring all possibilities, it’s very bold and I’m not sure any other Director-General of the IAEA would have done the same,” said a European source.
Senior French diplomat Philippe Errera tweeted his praise for Grossi’s “stamina”.
In a comment to AFP, US Ambassador to International Organizations in Vienna, Laura Holgate, said the US was “extremely grateful to DG Grossi and his team for their visit,” calling it “a crucial step in terms of nuclear safety” at the facility .
Arms Control Association think tank Kelsey Davenport said that “while an IAEA presence on the ground does not guarantee that a nuclear disaster will be averted, it should mitigate that risk and de-escalate tensions.”
Davenport said the “IAEA faces unprecedented challenges” that are “a direct affront to the nuclear order.”
“The agency needs leadership that tells the truth to those in power,” she said, adding, “Grossi is proving to be that leader.”
– No flinching –
One of Grossi’s current challenges is to manage the IAEA’s role in the extremely complex and sensitive Iranian nuclear dossier.
After Iran and world powers reached an agreement on the country’s nuclear program in 2015, it fell to the IAEA to oversee Tehran’s compliance with the agreement’s limits on its nuclear activities.
But since former US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the deal in 2018, it has been falling apart and Iran has gradually abandoned those restrictions, restricting IAEA inspectors’ access to sites and data.
Grossi has warned that the agency risks “flying blind” in Iran and has made several last-minute visits to Tehran to negotiate with senior Iranian officials.
While protracted diplomatic negotiations have taken place to try to revive the 2015 deal, Iran has said a pending IAEA investigation must be completed as part of the deal.
This investigation concerns the earlier discovery of traces of enriched uranium at three locations undeclared by Tehran.
Grossi has refused to back down, insisting that Iran has failed to adequately explain the existence of this material.
He has headed the IAEA since 2019 and previously held senior positions at the agency between 2010 and 2013.
The polyglot Argentine father of eight is also said to be in the running for the post of UN Secretary-General when incumbent Antonio Guterres’ term expires in 2026.
Asked about it at a conference in New York last month, Grossi replied: “My plate is full of terribly important things – it’s taking up my time and waking me up at night, and that’s all I care about.”
