(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 17. Iran's relations with
the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) continue within the
Tehran Declaration, Vice President of Iran and President of the
country's Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami told
reporters, trend reports via ISNA.
Eslami made the remark on the sidelines of the meeting of the
Iranian Cabinet of Ministers in Tehran.
According to him, Iran's relations with IAEA are based on the
Treaty of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). He said
that control activities under the NPT continue and there have been
no issues.
The official added that the IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi
expressed his approval for cooperation with Iran.
However, it's important to note that the IAEA isn't a
negotiating party for Iran in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of
Action (JCPOA) regarding Iran's nuclear program. The 5+1 group is
the negotiating party within Iran's Joint Comprehensive Action
Plan.
In January 2016, JCPOA was launched between Iran and the P5+1
group (US, Russia, China, UK, France, and Germany) in connection
with Iran's nuclear program. In May 2018, the US announced its
withdrawal from the deal and imposed sanctions on Iran in November
of the same year.
To preserve the agreements reached as part of the JCPOA, the
European signatories of the deal started in January 2019 that a
financial mechanism for maintaining trade with Iran called INSTEX
was formed.
On May 8, 2019, Iran announced that it had ceased fulfilling its
commitments regarding the sale of over 300 kilograms of uranium, as
stated in the deal, basing its decision on the other signatories
that have not fulfilled their obligations. On July 7, Iran
announced that it will not be fulfilling its commitments regarding
the enrichment of uranium at 3.67 percent and the reconstruction of
the Arak Heavy Water Reactor Facility as stated in the deal.
Iran announced that it will enrich uranium using next-generation
centrifuges and will not mix it with the enriched uranium residues
as part of the third step of reducing commitments in JCPOA on
Sept.5.
On Nov. 5, 2019, Iran announced that it took the fourth step in
connection with reducing its commitments to the nuclear agreement.
So, uranium gas is being pumped to the centrifuges at the Fordow
Fuel Enrichment Plant.
On Jan.2020, Iran took the last fifth step in reducing the
number of its commitments within JCPOA.
The US imposed new sanctions on Iran in November 2018. Over the
past period, the sanctions affected Iranian oil exports, more than
700 banks, companies, and individuals. The sanctions have resulted
in the freezing of Iranian assets abroad.