BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 11. The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi has urged Iran to work with the Agency in earnest and in a sustained way towards the fulfillment of the commitments contained in the Joint Statement signed in Tehran on March 4, Trend reports.
According to Grossi, the Joint Statement envisaged a process for clarifying safeguards issues and resuming JCPOA-related verification and monitoring activities. However, no further progress has been made in implementing the activities set out in the Joint Statement since then.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has expressed its concern over Iran’s continued non-compliance with its nuclear-related obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA).
In his latest reports to the Board of Governors, the IAEA Director General has highlighted the serious impact of Iran’s decisions to stop implementing its commitments and to remove the Agency’s surveillance and monitoring equipment.
According to the report on verification and monitoring in the Islamic Republic of Iran in light of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015), Iran has not provided the Agency with access to sites and locations where nuclear activities may have taken place since February 2021, when it stopped provisionally applying its Additional Protocol. This has prevented the agency from verifying and monitoring Iran’s nuclear program and ensuring its peaceful nature.
The report on the NPT Safeguards Agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran also reveals that Iran has not resolved several outstanding safeguards issues that stem from its obligations under its CSA. These include providing credible explanations for the presence of uranium particles of anthropogenic origin at Varamin and Turquzabad, informing the Agency of the current location(s) of related nuclear material and/or contaminated equipment, resolving the discrepancy in the nuclear material balance evaluation relating to the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF), and implementing modified Code 3.1.
The IAEA Board of Governors is expected to discuss these reports and adopt a resolution on Iran’s nuclear program at its meeting on September 13–17. The resolution may call on Iran to cooperate fully with the Agency and to reverse its steps away from the JCPOA. It may also express support for the diplomatic efforts to revive the JCPOA and restore confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program.