BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 2. Cooperation between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the Iranian nuclear program is moving in a positive direction, Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdullahian said, Trend reports.
He made the remark during a telephone conversation with Josep Borrell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
Iranian FM noted that Iran welcomes the visit of IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi to Iran.
At the same time, according to him, Iran is trying to take positive steps to lift sanctions against the country.
In turn, Josep Borrell noted that the EU does not want to escalate tensions in relations with Iran. At the same time, Borrell welcomed the continuation of diplomatic consultations between Iran and the EU and the adoption of constructive steps.
Notably, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi will take part in the 1st International Conference on Nuclear Science and Technology, which will be held in Isfahan (Iran) on May 6-8.
To note, the Comprehensive Plan of Joint Action on Iran's nuclear program was implemented between Iran and the P5+1 group (the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany) in January 2016. The US announced in May 2018 that it was withdrawing from the plan and imposed sanctions on Iran in November of the same year. Iran has announced that there will be no restrictions on the Iran nuclear deal in 2020.
In late 2020, the Iranian parliament adopted a strategic plan to counter the sanctions, citing the non-fulfillment of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed between Iran and six countries and the imposition of sanctions on Iran.
Based on the decision of the Iranian parliament, as of February 23, Iran stopped the implementation of additional measures and an additional protocol included in the nuclear deal. As a consequence, the monitoring mechanism of the IAEA was reduced by 20–30 percent.