(MENAFN- Trend News Agency) BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 30. The JointComprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is clearly superseded at thispoint, said Rafael Grossi, Director General of the InternationalAtomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Trend reports.

"2025 almost is ten years after that agreement was signed. So,Iran has now much faster, more efficient, more performingcentrifuges. Iran has more facilities producing the parts of those's developing, and constructing new sites where nuclearactivities are taking place. So, that agreement is clearlysuperseded at this point," he said in an interview with Amanpourand Company.

Grossi noted that today Iran does not have nuclear weapons.

"Iran is accumulating vast amounts of highly enriched uranium,and this is something that, of course, draws our attention becauseno other country, without nuclear weapons, is enriching at thesehigh levels. We are in a trajectory that is not good. We have topersuade Iran to come back to full cooperation with us. But, ofcourse, we are not in a scenario where we have the weapons in thatcountry," he added.

A comprehensive plan for joint action on Iran's nuclear programwas implemented between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China,UK, France, and Germany) in January 2016. The US announced in May2018 that it was withdrawing from this plan and in November of thesame year imposed sanctions on Iran. Iran announced in 2020 thatthere would be no restrictions on Iran in the nuclear deal.

Meanwhile, at the end of 2020, the Iranian Parliament, referringto the imposition of sanctions against Iran, decided to implementthe Nuclear Strategic Plan to lift the sanctions. According to thedecision of the Iranian parliament, Iran suspended theimplementation of additional steps and Additional Protocolstipulated by the nuclear agreement on February 23. At the sametime, the IAEA control mechanism was reduced by 20-30 percent.

The media, quoting the IAEA, reported in February that Iran hadincreased its stockpile of enriched uranium 27 times more thanstipulated in the comprehensive joint action plan. Since the IAEAreport of September 4, 2023, the amount of uranium enriched by 60percent in Iran has increased by 6.7 kilograms to about 128kilograms.

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