Iran deal represents ‘significant verification gain’
Iran deal represents ‘significant verification gain’ – UN atomic energy chief
Speaking the day after the
United States withdrew from an international agreement on
Iran’s nuclear programme, the head of the United Nations
atomic watchdog agency made it clear that Iran has
consistently stuck to its
commitments.
Yukiya Amano,
who leads the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Iran was “subject to the world’s most robust nuclear
verification regime” under the terms of the 2015 deal,
known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or
JCPOA.
The JCPOA – reached by Iran, China, France,
Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the US and the European
Union – sets out rigorous mechanisms for monitoring
restrictions placed on Iran’s nuclear programme, while
paving the way for the lifting UN sanctions against the
country.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump, announced
at the White House that the US would be withdrawing from the
deal, and unilaterally begin reinstating economic sanctions
against Iran at “the highest
level”.
In a live televised
address, he did not claim that Iran was in violation of the
terms of the deal, but described its so-called “sunset
provisions” – which lift restrictions on the country’s
ability to enrich uranium within 10 to 15 years – as
“totally unacceptable”.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statementshortly after the US announcement, that he was “deeply concerned” by the decision, and called on the remaining parties to preserve the deal.
The IAEA has said repeatedly that according to the Agency’s inspectors on the ground in Iran, no violations of the agreement had taken place, and there has been no evidence of any activity relating to any “nuclear explosive device”, after 2009.
The IAEA Director General said the agency would be “closely following developments related to the JCPOA, as requested by the United Nations Security Council and authorized by the IAEA Board of Governors in 2015.”
He described the three-year-old agreement as “a significant verification gain” adding that “as of today, the IAEA can confirm that the nuclear-related commitments are being implemented by Iran”.