Azernews.Az

By Kamila Aliyeva

Tehran continues to fulfill its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is in constant control of this process, Yukiya Amano, General Director of the Agency said.

He recalled that he visited Tehran in late October, where he held talks with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and other government officials and called on Iran to ratify the Additional Protocol to the Safeguards Agreement that it is currently applying.

“As my report on verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran within the framework of UN Security Council Resolution 2231 shows, the agency continues to monitor Iran's implementation of its nuclear energy commitments under the JCPOA. Iran's obligations related to nuclear weapons are being implemented,” he said, speaking the board of governors of the agency on November 23.

Amano added that IAEA experts continue to check “non-diversion of nuclear materials announced by Iran in accordance with the Safeguards Agreement”, to assess the absence of undeclared nuclear materials and activities in Iran.

“To date, the agency has access to all the places that we should visit,” the IAEA Director General said.

Despite eight reports by the IAEA which confirm Tehran’s compliance, On October 13, U.S. President Donald Trump, long been known as the main critic of the landmark deal, declared his view of the JCPOA, which was reached under his predecessor - Barack Obama.

The nuclear deal has become a hot topic for discussion since Trump, who constantly voices anti-Iranian rhetoric, took the office.

The recent proposal of French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss Iran's missile program and renegotiate some parts of nuclear deal was welcomed with discontent in Iran.

Macron’s recent statement can be explained by the youth of the French leader,Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Mohammad Ali Jafari said, RIA Novosti reported.

Earlier, Macron stated the need to preserve the nuclear agreement of 2015, but noted that it should be supplemented with new provisions.

In particular, the French leader suggested starting a discussion of Iran's ballistic activity and more clearly defining the boundaries of the country's nuclear program, as well as “limiting Iran's hegemony in the region” during the press conference in Dubai.

“We associate the proposal to discuss Iran's missile capabilities with the youth and inexperience of the French president. He will soon realize that these attempts are inconclusive,” Jafari said.

Tehran has repeatedly stated that issues related to the country's defense capability are not subject to discussion.

The Iran nuclear deal was negotiated in July 2015 between Iran, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - the U.S., France, Britain, Russia and China – as well as Germany. By ratifying the plan, Iran agreed to scale down its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

Trump announced that he would not certify Iran’s compliance with the deal. At the same time he did not challenge the compliance of Iran at the international level. The move paves the way for Congress to put new restrictions on Iran. It now has less than 60 days to decide whether to reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran which were lifted under the nuclear accord in 2016.

The other parties to the agreement - Britain, Germany, France, Russia, China and the European Union - have all reaffirmed their commitment to it and called on the U.S. not to step out.

However, it is believed that Trump would not recommend the Congress to re-impose sanctions in order to reach a compromise with many congressional leaders who stand for keeping the deal at least with some changes.

In case sanctions are applied, the U.S. would find itself in breach of its commitments. This means a unilateral withdrawal from the agreement, which will damage the reputation of the U.S. in the eyes of world community.

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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva

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