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IAEA says Iran bypasses restrictions envisaged by nuclear deal

According to the agency, there has been no progress in talks with Iran on sensitive issues such as reinstalling surveillance cameras and explaining uranium traces at undeclared sites

VIENNA, September 4. /TASS/. Iran continues to circumvent the restrictions imposed in accordance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on its nuclear program, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a report, excerpts from which are quoted by the Reuters news agency.

According to the text, Iran continues to violate restrictive measures imposed on its nuclear activities by the 2015 deal. At the same time, according to the IAEA, there has been no progress in talks with Iran on sensitive issues such as reinstalling surveillance cameras and explaining uranium traces at undeclared sites.

As follows from IAEA estimates, Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium has decreased by 949 kilograms since the last quarterly report was published, to 3,795.5 kilograms, but Tehran’s stock of uranium enriched to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% of weapons grade, "continued to grow albeit at a slower pace."

The JCPOA was signed with Iran in 2015 to address the crisis over its nuclear development program by the permanent quintet of the UN Security Council and Germany. The document provided for the gradual lifting of sanctions in exchange for Tehran's commitments to restrict nuclear activities. The previous US president, Donald Trump, decided to withdraw from this agreement in 2018. The current US leader Joe Biden has repeatedly signaled his willingness to bring Washington back into the nuclear deal.

Russia, Britain, China, France, the US and Germany have been negotiating with Iran in Vienna since April 2021 in a bid to restore the JCPOA to its original form.