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US continues to hamper Iranian nuclear deal — Tehran’s IAEA envoy

In his words, Iran is entitled to take remedial measures, and the IAEA will be duly informed of them at any stage of its development

VIENNA, June 17. /TASS/. The implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear program is hampered by incessant hostile moves by the United States, which run counter to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) charter, Iran’s envoy to IAEA said.

During the online conference of the IAEA Board of Governors, Iranian Resident Representative to IAEA Kazem Gharib Abadi said the implementation of JCPOA was seriously affected by US plans to impose unilateral sanctions against all the remaining nuclear projects in Iran, namely the Arak reactor conversion, the deliveries of enriched uranium for the Tehran Research Reactor, and the export of Iran’s research reactor fuel.

"These sanctions and malign policies have prevented the implementation of relevant nuclear-related provisions of Security Council resolution 2231 (2015) by Member States, including the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said. "In fact, with the persistent United States’ irresponsible conduct, the situation around this agreement is gloomier than before."

In his words, Iran is entitled to take remedial measures, and the IAEA will be duly informed of them at any stage of its development.

"The United States shall bear full responsibility for the consequences of its wrongful acts, which are in clear contradiction with the objectives of the Statute of the Agency, principles of the Non-proliferation Treaty and the provisions of the Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015)," he said.

The Iranian diplomat also called upon IAEA members to honor their commitments and "react proportionately to the unlawful conduct of the United States that is endangering international cooperation in the field of nuclear energy and technology."

"It is crucial that the United States violations of its relevant obligations and unilateral actions should not have any negative impact on the work of the Agency in pursuing its mandate in the fields of peaceful nuclear uses in accordance with its Statute and other relevant documents. Also, the Director General is requested to duly reflect such violations by the US in his reports on the implementation of the relevant instruments of the Agency," Gharib Abadi said.

In 2015, Iran and six major powers (five member states of the United Nations Security Council - Russia, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and China - and Germany) agreed on the final Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which particularly stipulated the removal of sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear program.

On May 8, 2018, US President Donald Trump announced Washington’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. He said that old sanctions on Iran would be restored and new ones would be introduced in case Tehran attempted to pursue its nuclear ambitions. In contrast, the United Kingdom, Germany and France called on other participants in the deal to continue fulfilling it. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow would seek to maintain the agreement.

However, Tehran believes that other signatories, primarily EU countries, failed to fulfill their economic obligations under the deal, making it irrelevant. In this regard, Iran began to reduce its commitments under the agreement.