TEHRAN, September 17 - Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi says the United States withdrawal from a 2015 nuclear deal has serious repercussions for the regional and international peace and security.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) -"The unilateral US move to withdraw from this agreement will have negative impacts on regional and international peace and security," Salehi said in an address to the 62nd General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna on Monday.
He added that the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries following a difficult procedure.
He emphasized that Washington decided to pull out of the deal in May "although the IAEA has verified the Islamic Republic of Iran's compliance with the agreement on 12 consecutive occasions."
The Iranian nuclear chief said the US never fulfilled its commitments under the JCPOA completely.
US President Donald Trump announced in May that Washington was pulling out of the JCPOA, which lifted nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran in exchange for restrictions on Iran's nuclear program.
The US administration reintroduced the previous sanctions while imposing new ones on the Islamic Republic. It also introduced punitive measures — known as secondary sanctions — against third countries doing business with Iran.
A first round of American sanctions took effect in August, targeting Iran's access to the US dollar, metals trading, coal, industrial software, and auto sector. A second round, forthcoming on November 4, will be targeting Iran’s oil sales and its Central Bank.
Despite Washington's withdrawal, Iran has not left the deal yet but stressed that the remaining signatories to the agreement now had to work to offset the negative impacts of the US pullout for Iran if they wanted Tehran to continue to remain in it.
Since the JCPOA Implementation Day on January 16, 2016, the IAEA has been monitoring Iran’s compliance with its nuclear-related commitments under the nuclear deal and has consistently verified the Islamic Republic’s compliance.
In his opening address to the IAEA’s 62nd General Conference, the agency's Director General Yukiya Amano reaffirmed that Iran is in compliance with the nuclear agreement.
“Iran is implementing its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA," Amano added.
In his introductory statement to the IAEA's Board of Governors in Vienna on September 10, Amano said Iran is living up to all its commitmentsunder the 2015 nuclear deal.
Salehi further said Washington’s unilateral pullout from the nuclear agreement is a blatant breach of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorses the JCPOA.
He added that the US move has imperiled the fate of the deal which was a "valuable and unique achievement of the science of diplomacy."
The AEOI head emphasized that international reaction to the US illegal move has created serious doubts about the rationality and reliability of Washington's policies.
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said earlier this month that all members of the international community need to stand up to the US’s law-breaking behavior or pay a high price after Washington's unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA.
Zarif said European countries should take action and be prepared to pay the costs to be able to reap benefits from the nuclear deal, adding, "We have already announced that in addition to declaring their political commitment, it is time for the Europeans to act."
His remarks came a day after European Union's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the 28-nation bloc would continue its work to preserve the multilateral nuclear agreement.
"Our work continues with all the member states and with other partners in the world, to make sure that Iranians and Iranian citizens can benefit from the economic relations not only the European Union's member states, but also others in the world," the senior EU official pointed out.
Salehi's meeting with ROSATOM CEO
Iran's nuclear chief also on Monday met with the Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation ROSATOM, Alexey Likhachev, on the sidelines of the IAEA's annual meeting.
Salehi hailed increasing cooperation between Iran and Russia on the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
He said the AEOI is keen to further boost cooperation in the fields of science and nuclear energy research and development.
Likhachev, for his part, said his country welcomes the strengthening of cooperation in all nuclear energy fields.
Source: Press TV
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