BAKU, Azerbaijan, August 16. Cooperation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran's nuclear program is beneficial to both sides, Trend reports.
Iran is cooperating with the IAEA to build confidence regarding its nuclear program. In return, the IAEA can control Iran's nuclear activities in order to avoid evasion.
Iran states that it cooperates with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in only two frameworks: the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the safeguards rules.
On August 15, 2023, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said in a telephone conversation with Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, that the cooperation between Iran and the IAEA on the nuclear program continues and that this cooperation is in the right direction.
Abdollahian emphasized that the continuation of the sanctions against Iran and the resulting conditions are not in the favor of the European Union either.
In a telephone conversation, the European Union's high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Josep Borrell, also stressed the importance of cooperation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency and added that the continuation of the negotiations will ultimately show all the parties' efforts to return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Borrell expressed hope that this case would end with a positive result.
On January 16, 2016, Iran's nuclear program triggered the creation of the JCPOA between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China, UK, France, and Germany). In May 2018, the US announced its withdrawal from the deal and imposed sanctions on Iran in November of the same year. To preserve the agreements reached as part of the JCPOA, the European signatories of the deal started in January 2019 and a financial mechanism for maintaining trade with Iran called INSTEX was formed.
On May 8, 2019, Iran announced ceasing to fulfill its commitments regarding the sale of over 300 kilograms of uranium, as stated in the deal, basing its decision on the other signatories that have not fulfilled their obligations.
On July 7, Iran announced that it would not be fulfilling its commitments regarding the enrichment of uranium at 3.67 percent and the reconstruction of the Arak Heavy Water Reactor Facility as stated in the deal.
On September 5 of the same year, Iran announced its commitment to enrich uranium using next-generation centrifuges and not mix it with the enriched uranium residues as part of the third step of reducing commitments in the JCPOA.
On November 5, 2019, Iran announced that it had taken the fourth step in connection with reducing its commitments to the nuclear agreement. So, uranium gas is being pumped to the centrifuges at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant.
On January 5, 2020, Iran took the last fifth step in reducing the number of its commitments within the JCPOA.
On May 8, 2018, the US announced its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the 5+1 group (Russia, China, the UK, France, the US, and Germany) and imposed new sanctions against Iran as of November 2018.
Over the past period, the sanctions affected Iranian oil exports and more than 700 banks, companies, and individuals. The sanctions have resulted in the freezing of Iranian assets abroad.
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