IAEA Director-General Raphael Grossi said that Iran must act as transparent as possible on its nuclear program in order to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
"We have to work very, very hard, and Iran has to be as transparent as possible, giving us access to information on a number of issues, so that we can reconstruct the big picture," he told a press conference on Monday.
The head of the IAEA does not consider Iran's withdrawal from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) possible. "I don't see any indication that Iran could withdraw from the NPT. <...> Iran has made clear its commitment to its obligations," Grossi said when asked whether the Islamic Republic could withdraw from the NPT if a return to the JCPOA on Iran's nuclear program were not possible.
He also added that he hoped the dialogue on the nuclear deal would continue.
On Saturday, the foreign ministries of Great Britain, Germany and France issued a statement calling Iran's position on the nuclear program inconsistent with its commitments and jeopardizing the restoration of the JCPOA. For his part, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said Europe's criticism of Tehran's position was a step pushing the negotiations on the nuclear deal to failure.
In early June, Iran notified the IAEA that it was removing the agency's 27 monitoring cameras from several nuclear facilities. Grossi called this a "serious challenge" to the IAEA's continued ability to confirm that Tehran is in compliance with the JCPOA on Iran's nuclear program.
The JCPOA was signed with Iran in 2015 to address the crisis over its nuclear developments by the permanent UN Security Council Five and Germany. Previous US President Donald Trump decided in 2018 to withdraw from the agreement. Current US leader Joe Biden has repeatedly signaled a willingness to bring Washington back into the nuclear deal with Tehran. Russia, Britain, Germany, China, the US and France have been negotiating with Iran in Vienna since last April to restore the JCPOA to its original form.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Dean Calma/IAEA СС2.0
Based on materials from TASS