The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is calling on Iran and the US to return to full compliance with the nuclear deal, Permanent Representative of Russia to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov says
VIENNA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th September, 2021) The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is calling on Iran and the US to return to full compliance with the nuclear deal, Permanent Representative of Russia to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov says.
"The discussion in the #IAEA board of Governors on #Iran goes on in a businesslike atmosphere. The DG's (Director General Rafael Grossi's) visit to Tehran on Sunday eased tension. Many Governors call upon Iran and US to return to full compliance with #JCPOA and underline the need for resumption of #ViennaTalks ASAP," Ulyanov said on Twitter on Wednesday.
The IAEA Board of Governors September session kicked off in Vienna on Monday.
Grossi traveled to Tehran to hold negotiations with the chief of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, this past weekend. On Monday, the IAEA chief evaluated the meeting as frank and constructive, but said that no promises were made on Iran's nuclear program.
After the talks, the sides issued a joint statement, in which they expressed willingness to maintain cooperation and agreed to allow the IAEA to replace memory cards in the surveillance system at the country's sensitive nuclear sites.
In 2015, Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, or the Iran nuclear deal) with the P5+1 group of countries (the United States, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom - plus Germany) and the European Union. It required Iran to scale back its nuclear program and severely downgrade its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief, including lifting the arms embargo five years after the deal's adoption. In 2018, the US abandoned its conciliatory stance on Iran, withdrawing from the JCPOA and implementing hard-line policies against Tehran, prompting Iran to largely abandon its obligations under the accord.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier this month that Washington is getting closer to the point when a strict return to compliance with the JCPOA does not reproduce the benefits that the agreement achieved when it was initially signed.
