IAEA chief gives no comment on US exit from Iran deal at meeting with Putin

By  Trend

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano refrained from commenting on Washington’s exit from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the Vienna-based international organizations Mikhail Ulyanov told reporters on Monday, TASS reports.

"The Agency is a technical and non-political organization, so the director general was quite right to refrain from evaluating decisions made by Washington," the Russian envoy said.

"He said that the Agency had been conducting monitoring and checks in Iran and was determined to continue doing that based on the reasons provided by the United Nations Security Council and the IAEA Board of Governors," Ulyanov said.

When asked whether the IAEA saw any violations on Iran’s part, the Russian envoy answered in the negative.

"I believe that it is either a misunderstanding of the deal’s nature or a political decision stemming from the rejection of Mr. Obama’s legacy. This is the impression that one gets," Ulyanov said in response to a question as to what reasons were behind the United States’ decision.

In 2015, Iran and six major powers (five member states of the United Nations Security Council - Russia, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and China - and Germany) agreed on the final Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for the Iranian nuclear program, which particularly stipulates the removal of sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear program.

On May 8, US President Donald Trump announced Washington’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. According to Trump, the JCPOA left the door open for Iran to circumvent restrictions and develop a nuclear bomb. The US president said that old sanctions would be restored and new ones would be introduced in case Tehran attempted to pursue its nuclear ambitions. At the same time, Trump called for making a new agreement.