BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 8. Iran is trying to solve problems with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) not by political pressure but via technical cooperation, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told reporters, Trend reports.
According to him, there are important issues for cooperation between Iran and the IAEA. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi raised these issues during his visit to Tehran.
Amirabdollahian noted that there is progress between Iran and the agency if the IAEA director general takes steps within the law. However, in cases of external pressure, misunderstandings arise.
Meanwhile, the 3-day 1st International Conference on Nuclear Science and Technology (international conference on nuclear science and technology) kicked off in Isfahan, Iran, on May 6. Senior Iranian officials attended the conference. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossin also traveled to Iran to attend the conference.
Additionally, Iran and the IAEA reached an agreement in March of last year (2023) and released a statement about it. According to the agreement, Iran's cooperation with the IAEA is within the framework of the Convention on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and safeguards, and the parties are to cooperate on allegations of the existence of enriched uranium substances in connection with Iran's nuclear program.
In January 2016, Iran and the P5+1 group (the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany) implemented the Comprehensive Plan of Joint Action on Iran's nuclear program. 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, as well as the imposition of sanctions on Iran.
According to the Iranian parliament's decision, as of February 23, Iran had stopped the implementation of additional measures and an additional protocol included in the nuclear deal. Consequently, the IAEA reduced its monitoring mechanism by 20–30 percent.
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