The IAEA also confirmed that Iran is installing centrifuges prepared for testing with uranium hexafluoride, or UF6, the feedstock for centrifuges.
IAEA Acting Director General Cornel Feruta, who returned from a weekend visit to Tehran, told the agency’s board in Vienna on Monday that inspectors continue “to verify and monitor Iran’s nuclear-related commitments” under the JCPOA.
The nuclear accord was signed between Iran and six world states — namely the US, Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China — in 2015.
Washington, however, abandoned the accord in May 2018, leaving the future of the historic deal in limbo.
Tehran remained fully compliant with the JCPOA for an entire year as confirmed by the IAEA in several reports, waiting for the remaining co-signatories to fulfill their end of the bargain by offsetting the impacts of Washington’s bans on the Iranian economy.
As the European parties failed to do so, Tehran moved in May to retaliate against Washington’s exit and began suspending its JCPOA commitments in 60-day stages under Articles 26 and 36 of the deal covering Tehran’s legal rights.
Iran has given another two months to the European signatories to take meaningful action to save the JCPOA as a France-led diplomatic process is underway between the two sides.
Russia, France vow cooperation on saving JCPOA
In another development on Monday, Russia and France agreed to continue joint efforts to save the JCPOA.
“We agreed to go ahead with cooperation for the purpose of preserving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear program,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, adding that the pact “has no sound alternative.”
He made the remarks at a joint press conference following a meeting of the so-called 2+2 format, comprising Russian and French foreign and defense ministers, in Moscow.