European Powers 'Welcome' Biden's Aim to Re-Enter JCPOA

The governments of France, Germany, and the UK “welcome the statements by President-elect Biden on the JCPOA and a diplomatic path to address wider concerns with Iran,” the trio said in a statement on Monday.

The three governments, dubbed the E3, also declared that they would “address Iran’s non-compliance within the framework of the JCPOA,” reiterating their support for Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. The statement described the deal as "the best and currently the only way to monitor and constrain Iran's nuclear programme.”

The E3 also expressed concerns over plans by Iran to install advanced centrifuges at its main nuclear enrichment plant in Natanz.

The UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported last month that Iran had installed and begun operating advanced centrifuges at an underground section at Natanz.

"Iran's recent announcement to the IAEA that it intends to install an additional three cascades of advanced centrifuges at the Fuel Enrichment Plant in Natanz is contrary to the JCPOA and deeply worrying," the E3 said.

Under the terms of Iran's 2015 deal it is only meant to enrich uranium with a less sophisticated variety of centrifuges.

Since May last year Iran has taken steps to violate that limit and several others laid down in the deal in retaliation for US President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the accord in 2018 and subsequent reimposition of sanctions.

The three European powers said they had noted, "with great concern" a law passed by the Iranian parliament that would expand Iran's nuclear programme and limit the IAEA's monitoring access, saying this too would be "incompatible with the JCPOA and Iran's wider nuclear commitments".

The bill "for the lifting of sanctions and protection of the Iranian people's interests" was approved by the powerful Guardian Council on Wednesday but has to be signed by President Hassan Rouhani to become law.

Rouhani, whose government has signalled a readiness to engage with US President-elect Joe Biden, called the bill "detrimental to the course of diplomatic activities.”

The three European governments said that if Iran was serious about wanting to return to diplomacy with the incoming US administration, it had to reverse the bill and the installation of the centrifuges.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Has Nothing to Gain From Halting Inspections: Grossi

By Jastinder Khera and Anne Beade

Iran has nothing to gain from ending inspections of its nuclear facilities, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog warned as tensions rise after a top Iranian nuclear scientist was assassinated.

In an interview with AFP after a year in office, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi issued the appeal in response to calls by Iranian MPs to end inspections following the killing.

"We understand the distress but at the same time it is clear that no-one, starting with Iran, would have anything to win from a decrease, limitation or interruption of the work we do together with them," Grossi said.

Grossi, 59, confirmed that so far the IAEA had not yet received any signal from Iranian authorities that anything would change regarding inspections in the wake of the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

Iran's parliament on Sunday demanded a halt to those inspections, signalling another potential retreat from a key commitment in its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

This is not the first time that parliamentarians have expressed themselves in this way or in very similar ways," Grossi pointed out.

"We haven't received any indication of restriction or limitation of their cooperation with us," he said. "I do not see any reason to believe that this would be the case now."

Grossi emphasised that the IAEA's extensive inspections regime was "essential" if the outside world was to have assurances about the nature of Iran's nuclear programme.

Fakhrizadeh was laid to rest on Monday, three days after he was assassinated on a major road outside Tehran.

"Let me say that we abhor violence of any type, we are an international organisation for peace and security," Grossi said.

The killing could put yet more strain on diplomatic efforts to salvage Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, which has been disintegrating ever since the Trump administration withdrew from it two years ago.

High-Stakes Gamble

Iran has been one of the thorniest issues Grossi has had to tackle over an eventful year since taking office in early December 2019.

"They have a very large nuclear programme that requires as you know one of the biggest, if not the biggest efforts in terms of inspection. Without that... the instability in the region would be far higher," Grossi said.

A high point during his leadership was his trip to Tehran in August which ended in an agreement allowing IAEA inspectors access to two sites where undeclared nuclear activity may have taken place in the 2000s.

That had followed months where Tehran had denied access to the locations.

"I was served with a denial of access to two sites barely 40 days into the job, something that had never happened before in the history of the IAEA," Grossi recalls.

He admitted that some member states and analysts had thought his gambit of flying to Iran for talks was a risk.

However, it paid off and won him plaudits in Vienna's diplomatic circles.

'Sense of Urgency'

However, when it comes to another controversial undeclared site, in the Turquzabad district of Tehran, Grossi said there were still unanswered questions over the presence of nuclear material.

"I do not want to dramatise but it is important that we get clarification," he said.

While not setting a deadline for Iran to provide the necessary information, Grossi said "a sense of urgency is clear on my side" and recalled that the site has been under discussion for almost two years now.

Grossi said his proudest achievement was that the agency managed to keep going throughout the coronavirus despite the challenges.

"I had to argue my way with foreign ministers, I had to hire private planes to send my inspectors - it wasn't easy."

Looking to the year ahead, Grossi said he hoped the Agency would be a "priority" for the incoming administration of President-elect Joe Biden.

Photo: IRNA

IAEA Not Satisfied With Iranian Explanation on Nuclear Site

By Jastinder Khera

The UN's nuclear watchdog said Wednesday that Iran's explanations over the presence of nuclear material at an undeclared site in the country were "not technically credible.”

The news comes as observers watch to see whether Joe Biden's victory in the US presidential election will lead to detente between Iran and Western powers.

Despite Iranian authorities providing some information about the site, "the agency informed Iran that it continues to consider Iran's response to be not technically credible," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a report seen by AFP.

"A full and prompt explanation from Iran regarding the presence of uranium particles of anthropogenic origin... at a location in Iran not declared to the agency is needed," the report said.

While the IAEA has not identified the site in question, diplomatic sources have indicated to AFP that it is in the Turquzabad district of Tehran, previously identified by Israel as an alleged site of secret atomic activity.

A source familiar with the issue said there was no indication the site had been used for processing uranium but that it could have been used for storing it as late as the end of 2018.

Iran's ambassador to the IAEA, Kazem Gharib Abadi, wrote on Twitter that "any hasty comments should be avoided.”

"Interactions are ongoing with a view to finalize the resolution of the matter," he added.

'Sabotage'

The report did not provide any new information about two separate locations where the IAEA took samples in September and where undeclared nuclear activity may have taken place in the early 2000s.

The analysis of those samples is ongoing.

It however confirmed that Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium is now more than 12 times the limit set down in a 2015 deal with world powers, even if the rate at which the stockpile is expanding has slowed since the last report.

The 2015 accord has been progressively unravelling since US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and went on to re-introduce crippling economic sanctions on Iran.

In retaliation, Iran has been breaking the limits on its nuclear activity laid down in the deal since May 2019.

As well as breaching limits on the stockpile amount and enrichment level of uranium laid down in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran has been using more advanced centrifuges than permitted under the deal.

Wednesday's report confirmed that, in line with previous statements by Iranian officials, centrifuges had been installed at an underground part of the Natanz nuclear facility after another part of the site was damaged in an explosion in July which Iran blamed on "sabotage"

'Maximum Pressure'

The three European powers who are still party to the 2015 deal, namely France, the UK and Germany, have been scrambling to find ways to keep the accord intact.

The election of Trump's Democrat opponent Joe Biden as the next US president has offered some hope the deal could be revived, as Biden has offered Iran a "credible path back to diplomacy".

On Wednesday Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the country would take “any opportunity" which could "lift the pressure of sanctions from the shoulders of our people".

However, obstacles remain to any detente.

Iran insists that the US has to lift sanctions imposed by the Trump administration before it will come back into compliance with the JCPOA's limits.

The "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran launched by the Trump administration has seen Tehran's distrust of the Americans intensify and tensions between the two countries have twice brought them to the brink of war since mid-2019.

Biden will face a tight window of opportunity between his inauguration on January 20 and an Iranian presidential election set for June 18 in which reformists and moderates allied to Rouhani may face a tough challenge from conservatives.

On Friday US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will start a tour of US allies, including several of Iran's neighbours, during which he is expected to discuss raising further pressure on Tehran in the remaining two months of the Trump administration.

Photo: Wikicommons

UN Nuclear Watchdog to Visit 2nd Iran Site in 'a Few Days'

The head of UN's nuclear watchdog said Monday that inspectors would "in a few days" visit the second of two sites in Iran where undeclared nuclear activity may have taken place in the early 2000s.

Iran's refusal to allow the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to the two sites had caused a diplomatic row for months.

This had further strained efforts to save the 2015 landmark Iran nuclear deal, which has hung by a thread since the US pulled out of it in 2018.

The accord promises Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbing its nuclear program, but Tehran has stepped up nuclear activities since last year after the US reimposed sanctions.

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said a visit to a second site, to which the agency had requested access, was imminent following a recent visit to the first.

"The second one will happen in a few days," he told reporters after opening the agency's 35-member board of governors' meeting.

He said analyzing environmental samples collected at the first site would take "not less than a couple of months, two or three months maybe".

Tehran announced in late August that it would allow the IAEA access to the two sites, following a visit to Tehran by Grossi.

The denial had prompted the IAEA's board of governors to pass a resolution in June urging Tehran to comply with the agency's requests.

Under the 2015 accord, the IAEA monitors Iran's nuclear activities and regularly updates its members.

In its latest report, the IAEA said Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium now stands at more than ten times the limit set down in the 2015 deal.

Iran is also continuing to use more advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium than is permitted under the deal.

However, the level of enrichment has not gone above that which would be needed for use in a nuclear weapon.

The head of Iran's atomic agency, Ali Akbar Salehi, said Sunday that 1,044 centrifuges were active at the Fordow uranium enrichment plant.

The suspension of all enrichment at the underground facility was one of the restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities under the Iran nuclear accord.

Photo: IAEA

Iran Says 1,044 Centrifuges Active at Underground Plant

The head of Iran's atomic agency said Sunday that 1,044 centrifuges were active at the Fordow uranium enrichment plant, in line with steps to reduce its commitments to the nuclear deal.

The suspension of all enrichment at the underground facility near the Shiite holy city of Qom was one of the restrictions on Iran's nuclear activities that it accepted in return for the lifting of international sanctions in the 2015 landmark accord.

Tehran first announced the resumption of enrichment at Fordow last November, the fourth phase of its push since May 2019 to progressively suspend commitments to the deal.

It was in retaliation to Washington's abandonment of the accord in May 2018 followed by its unilateral reimposition of sanctions.

“Currently 1,044 centrifuges are enriching at Fordow," Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's atomic agency, told the Iranian parliament's news agency ICANA.

"We were committed in the JCPOA that these 1,044 machines do not carry out enrichment, but it is being done per dropped commitments as much as needed and we will stockpile the enriched material, too," he added, referring to the accord's official name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Iran's other walk-back steps included exceeding the accord's restrictions on enriched uranium reserves and enrichment level, development of advanced centrifuges, and foregoing a limit on its number of centrifuges.

In a joint statement in November, Britain, France, Germany and the European Union said Iran's decision to restart activities at Fordow was "inconsistent" with the 2015 deal.

The parties to the accord have called on Iran to return to its commitments, but Tehran insists the steps can be reversed once its economic benefits from the deal are realized.

The United Nation's nuclear watchdog said on September 4 that Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium now stands at more than ten times the limit set down in the 2015 deal.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Allows UN Access to Alleged Nuclear Sites

Iran agreed Wednesday to allow a UN watchdog the access it has requested to two alleged nuclear sites, as the head of the agency ended his first visit to Tehran.

The announcement came only hours after Iran's arch foe the United States suffered a humiliating defeat when the United Nations blocked its controversial bid to reimpose international sanctions on the Islamic republic.

The US move had threatened to torpedo a historic 2015 accord under which Iran had agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

The deal known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) has been hanging by a thread since US President Donald Trump's unilateral decision to withdraw from it in 2018.

Iran has retaliated by gradually reducing its commitments to the JCPOA ever since.

But it agreed on Wednesday to grant the International Atomic Energy Agency the access it has sought to two sites that were suspected of having hosted undeclared activity in the early 2000s.

"Iran is voluntarily providing the IAEA with access to the two locations specified by the IAEA," the two sides said in a joint statement, adding they had agreed on dates for the access and the verification activities there.

The announcement came at the end of IAEA director general Rafael Grossi's first visit to Iran since the Argentine took the post last year.

In their statement, the two sides said the agreement followed "intensive bilateral consultations" and that the IAEA had no further access requests.

"Based on analysis of available information to the IAEA, the IAEA does not have further questions to Iran and further requests for access to locations," they said.

"Both sides recognize the independence, impartiality and professionalism of the IAEA continue to be essential in the fulfillment of its verification activities," they added.

'Sworn Enemies'

The IAEA's board of governors had passed a resolution in late June put forward by Britain, France and Germany, urging Tehran to provide inspectors access to the two disputed sites.

Grossi met with Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday before wrapping up his visit.

"Iran, like before, is ready to closely cooperate with the agency in the framework of safeguards," Rouhani said, according to the government's official website.

He called the agreement "favorable" and said it can help "finally settle issues".

Rouhani also called on Grossi to consider that Iran has "sworn enemies" with nuclear weapons who do not cooperate with the IAEA and are "always seeking to cause issues" for Tehran. 

The IAEA monitors Iran's nuclear activities as part of the 2015 nuclear agreement between the Islamic republic and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany.

Since the US pullout, the remaining participants to the deal have been struggling to save it.

Access to the two disputed sites had been blocked for months, prompting a diplomatic row.

According to the spokesman for Iran's nuclear body, one of the two is located in central Iran between Isfahan and Yazd provinces, and the other is close to Tehran.

Iran had argued that the IAEA's access requests are based on allegations from Israel and have no legal basis.

After meeting Grossi, head of Iran's atomic agency, Ali Akbar Salehi, said a "new chapter" had started in relations between the country and the agency.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Hails 'Constructive' Talks With Visiting IAEA Chief

By Amir Havasi

Iran's nuclear body said it held "constructive" talks on Tuesday with the visiting head of the International Atomic Energy Agency amid tensions over a US bid to reimpose UN sanctions.

The trip is Rafael Mariano Grossi's first to the Islamic republic since the Argentine took the helm of the Vienna-based UN agency last year.

It comes more than two years after US President Donald Trump pulled out of a landmark international agreement that put curbs on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Grossi first met with the head of the country's atomic agency, Ali Akbar Salehi. Later he is due to meet Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

"A new chapter has started with this visit," Salehi said after the meeting, quoted by state news agency IRNA.

"Today's talks were constructive," he added.

"It was decided that the agency continue its work professionally and independently and Iran, too, act in the framework of its commitments."

Salehi said Iran's "enemies will not rest" but noted that Tehran has "so far been able to manage the issue".

‘Safeguards Verification'

Access to the two disputed sites has been blocked for months, prompting a diplomatic row.

Iran has argued that the IAEA's access requests are based on allegations from the country's arch-enemy Israel and have no legal basis.

The two sides were working on a statement which will be announced "in due time", Salehi added.

Grossi said later in a tweet that the two sides were working on "reaching an agreement on IAEA's safeguards verification activities in Iran."

In a statement before the talks, the nuclear body had said Iran expects the IAEA to "maintain neutrality in any situation and refrain from entering international political games."

The UN agency's board of governors had passed a resolution in late June put forward by European states, urging Tehran to provide inspectors access to two sites to help clarify whether undeclared nuclear activity took place there in the early 2000s.

According to the spokesman for Iran's nuclear body, one of the two is located in central Iran between Isfahan and Yazd provinces, and the other is close to Tehran.

He hinted in a Monday interview with Iran's Al-Alam television network that access may be granted if the agency does not demand more.

"To prevent enemies from exploiting the situation... we are seeking ways to alleviate our concerns and say there is access, see there's nothing," Behrouz Kamalvandi was quoted as saying.

"But this issue must be resolved once and for all... meaning that they would not demand afterwards to inspect somewhere else in the same way," he added.

US 'Snapback' Bid

Grossi's visit comes amid tensions between the US and its European allies over Washington's bid to maintain an arms embargo on Iran and reimpose UN sanctions.

It also takes place shortly before a September 1 meeting of the joint commission on the 2015 nuclear agreement.

Washington controversially maintains it has the right to force the reimposition of sanctions through the agreement's "snapback" mechanism, despite its withdrawal.

Britain, France and Germany rejected the move, saying it frustrated their efforts to salvage the accord.

The deal has been on life-support and tensions escalating since Trump's decision to pull out of the deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.

In retaliation, Iran has progressively abandoned nuclear commitments under the accord.

Grossi is also expected to meet Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday before flying back to Vienna.

Photo: Twitter

Iran Says 'Sabotage' Caused Natanz Nuclear Site Blast

Iran's Atomic Energy Organization said on Sunday that "sabotage" was the cause of an explosion that damaged the Natanz nuclear facility last month.

"Security investigations confirm this was sabotage and what is certain is that an explosion took place in Natanz," said spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi.

"But how this explosion took place and with what materials... will be announced by security officials in due course," he was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA.

Iran said after the July 2 incident that it had determined its cause but declined to release details due to "security concerns".

Natanz governor Ramezan-Ali Ferdowsi said a fire had broken out at the site, but the country's atomic agency said it caused no casualties or radioactive pollution.

At the time, IRNA published an editorial warning Iran's arch-foes against hostile actions, saying unnamed Israeli social media accounts had claimed the Jewish state was behind it.

The incident came six days after an explosion near a military complex rocked Tehran.

The blast in the Parchin area southeast of the Iranian capital was due to "leaking gas tanks", the defense ministry said.

The Islamic republic resumed uranium enrichment at the Natanz complex, in central Iran, in September last year.

The move came after the United States unilaterally withdrew in 2018 from an international accord that gave Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.

Tehran has always denied its nuclear program has any military dimension.

Photo: IRNA

IAEA Head to Make First Visit to Iran on Monday

The head of the UN atomic watchdog will to go Tehran on Monday for meetings with senior Iranian officials aimed at improving cooperation on Iran's nuclear activities, the IAEA said.

The visit comes amid tensions between the US and its European allies over Washington's bid to maintain an arms embargo on Iran and reimpose UN sanctions dating back to 2006.

It will be the first visit to Iran by Rafael Mariano Grossi since he became director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency in December.

The IAEA said in a statement on Saturday that Grossi will address Iran's cooperation with the agency and in particular access for its inspectors to certain sites.

"My objective is that my meetings in Tehran will lead to concrete progress in addressing the outstanding questions that the agency has related to safeguards in Iran and, in particular, to resolve the issue of access," he said.

“I also hope to establish a fruitful and cooperative channel of direct dialogue with the Iranian Government which will be valuable now and in the future.”

His visit takes place shortly before a September 1 meeting in Vienna of the joint commission on the landmark 2015 deal between Iran and global powers that aims to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb.

The US and European nations are at loggerheads after Washington began the process Thursday of activating a controversial mechanism aimed at restoring UN sanctions on Iran.

Britain, France and Germany rejected the move, saying it frustrated their efforts to salvage the 2015 accord that US President Donald Trump pulled out of two years ago.

Washington controversially maintains it has the right to force the reimposition of sanctions through the agreement's "snapback" mechanism despite its withdrawal.

Photo: IAEA

Iran's Rouhani Says UN Watchdog Risks Losing Independence

Iran's president warned Wednesday that the UN nuclear watchdog risks losing its independence after it adopted a resolution urging access to two sites alleged to have hosted past nuclear activities.

The Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency passed the resolution put forward by European states last week, calling on Iran to help clarify whether undeclared nuclear activities took place at the sites in the early 2000s.

But the Islamic republic says the IAEA's requests for access were based on allegations from its arch-enemy Israel and had no legal basis.

"The Zionist regime and the Americans are pressuring the agency to investigate something related to 20, 18 years ago. They are deceiving the agency, misleading it," President Hassan Rouhani said during a televised cabinet meeting.

"Our expectation is that... the agency should be able to keep its independence," he added, warning that Israel and the United States were tarnishing its reputation.

Rouhani also slammed the three European parties to the Iran nuclear deal—Britain, France and Germany—for putting forward the resolution and "sullying themselves for no reason" by cooperating with Israel and the US.

"We did not expect this from the Europeans," he said, while praising China and Russia—also parties to the nuclear deal—for standing against the resolution.

Iran agreed with the five countries plus the US in 2015 to limit its nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions, but the deal has been on life support ever since US President Donald Trump withdrew from it and unilaterally reimposed sanctions in 2018.

Tehran has criticized the Europeans for failing to provide it with the economic benefits set out in the accord and has rolled back some of its commitments in retaliation for the US pullout.

Rouhani said Iran would continue to work with the IAEA regarding "legal inspections.”

Photo: IRNA

Britain, France, Germany Will Not Back U.N. Iran Sanctions Snapback

The foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany said Friday they opposed lifting a UN arms embargo on Iran this year, after the UN's nuclear watchdog passed a resolution critical of Tehran.

"We believe that the planned lifting of the UN conventional arms embargo established by Resolution 2231 next October would have major implications for regional security and stability," the ministers said in a joint statement.

The statement by the three key European powers on Iran will be a blow to Tehran, which had urged a lifting of the embargo despite US pressure for it to remain in place.

The ban on selling weapons—such as battle tanks, combat aircraft, warships and missiles or missile systems—to Iran had been set to be progressively eased from October.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani earlier this month urged UN Security Council members to oppose a US "conspiracy" to extend the arms embargo.

The three powers said they plan to address the arms embargo issue "in close coordination" with UN Security Council permanent members Russia and China.

The board of governors at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had passed a resolution Friday urging Tehran to provide inspectors with access to two sites to clarify whether undeclared nuclear activity took place there in the early 2000s.

It was the first such resolution since 2012 and came against a background of tension over the Iranian nuclear program, with Iran's position causing increasing exasperation in Europe.

"Since 2019, Iran has taken nuclear measures contrary to its commitments" under the 2015 deal on its nuclear program with world powers, the ministers' statement said.

It added that Iran "has denied the access requested by the agency for many months" to the sites.

But the powers insisted they remained committed to the 2015 nuclear deal, which analysts believe has been greatly undermined by the withdrawal of the United States in 2018.

They said sanctions should not be reimposed and that they opposed the "maximum" pressure policy against Iran of the administration of US President Donald Trump.

"We firmly believe that any unilateral attempt to trigger UN sanctions snapback would have serious adverse consequences" in the UN Security Council.

"We remain committed... (to the nuclear deal) and, in order to preserve it, urge Iran to reverse all measures inconsistent with the agreement and return to full compliance without delay," said the statement.

Photo: Shutterstock

UN Nuclear Watchdog Passes Resolution Criticizing Iran

The board of governors at the UN's nuclear watchdog has passed a resolution critical of Iran, diplomatic sources said Friday, the first of its kind since 2012.

The resolution calls on Tehran to provide inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with access to two sites in Iran in order to clarify whether undeclared nuclear activity took place there in the early 2000s.

 Iran has been blocking access to the sites for months.

Earlier this week Iran warned that such a resolution would be "counterproductive" and that it would take "appropriate measures" in response.

Even though the sites in question are not thought to be directly relevant to Iran's current nuclear program, the agency says it needs to know if activities going back almost two decades have been properly declared and all materials accounted for.

Despite the row over the two sites, the IAEA says it still has the access it needs to inspect Iran's declared nuclear facilities, as the agency is mandated to do under the landmark deal between Iran and world powers reached in 2015.

However the latest row comes as that deal continues to unravel, with Iran continuing to breach the limits on nuclear activity in the accord in retaliation for the United States' withdrawal from it and reimposition of sanctions.

Photo: Wikicommons

Iran Warns Against UN Nuclear Watchdog Resolution

Iran criticized on Tuesday a plan to put forward a resolution at a meeting of the UN's nuclear watchdog urging the country to allow access to two disputed sites.

European states are expected to submit the resolution at the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) board of governors' meeting this week.

"Introduction of this resolution aiming to call on Iran to cooperate with the Agency... is disappointing and absolutely counterproductive," said Kazem Gharib Abadi, Iran's UN ambassador in Vienna.

Diplomats say the resolution will call on Iran to provide access to two locations where past nuclear activity may have occurred -- sites to which the IAEA has been trying to gain access for months.

At the start of this week's meeting on Monday, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi repeated his appeal to Iran to "cooperate immediately and fully" and grant access.

Even though the sites in question are not thought to be directly relevant to Iran's current nuclear program, the agency says it needs to know if activities going back almost two decades have been properly declared and all materials accounted for.

But in Tuesday's statement, Gharib Abadi warned that if the resolution was adopted, "Iran would have no choice but to take appropriate measures, the consequences of which would be upon the sponsors of such political and destructive approaches".

He did not specify what these measures would be.

Gharib Abadi argued that the IAEA's access requests were based on allegations from Iran's arch-enemy Israel.

Additional information provided by the IAEA in support of its requests "were merely some commercial satellite imageries that contained no convincing underlying reason" to provide access, he added.

'Complication and Difficulties'

The IAEA's board of governors has not passed a resolution critical of Iran since 2012.

While a new resolution would be largely symbolic in character, it could be a prelude for the dispute being referred to the UN Security Council, the only UN body that can impose sanctions.

However, there is the added complication that due to the coronavirus pandemic the IAEA board of governors' meeting is taking place in a virtual format.

Russia has been particularly active in resisting the prospect of remote voting and on Monday it was decided that a physical meeting would be convened if a vote needs to be held.

It is not clear how quickly such a meeting could be organized.

Also on Tuesday Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Moscow where his Russian opposite number Sergei Lavrov pledged to stand by Tehran, while referring to "developments taking place right now in Vienna" and "ideas our western friends are floating in New York".

"We will be very firmly opposing any attempts to use this situation in order to manipulate the Security Council and to promote an anti-Iranian agenda," Lavrov said.

Despite the row over the two sites, the IAEA says it still has the access it needs to Iran's nuclear facilities to monitor its current activities, as the agency is mandated to do under the landmark deal between Iran and world powers reached in 2015.

The deal has been unravelling since US President Donald Trump withdrew from it two years ago and went on to re-impose harsh economic sanctions on Iran.

In retaliation Iran has been slowly abandoning limits on its activities set out under the deal, including on the size and enrichment level of its uranium stockpile.

Iran has accused the European parties to the deal—France, the UK and Germany—of not doing enough to mitigate the impact of American sanctions.

In his statement, Gharib Abadi hinted that pressing ahead with the resolution could cause "complication and difficulties" for the future of the 2015 accord.

Photo: IRNA

UN Nuclear Watchdog Chief Asks Iran for Access to Disputed Sites

By Jastinder Khera

The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog on Monday called on Iran to allow "prompt access" to two sites where past nuclear activity may have occurred.

"I hope we can do better," Rafael Grossi, director general of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told reporters when asked about the agency's current relationship with Iran.

Grossi was speaking at the start of a meeting of the agency's Board of Governors which is expected to discuss a report earlier this month in which the IAEA expressed "serious concern" that Iran has been blocking inspections at two sites.

"There are areas where our cooperation is ongoing and there is this issue where quite clearly we are in disagreement," he said.

Grossi repeated an appeal to Iran to "cooperate immediately and fully" with the agency.

If the Board of Governors pass a resolution critical of Iran, it would be the first of its kind since 2012.

Even though the two sites in question are not thought to be directly relevant to Iran's current activities, the agency says it needs to know if activities going back almost two decades have been properly declared and all materials accounted for.

The report detailed efforts by the agency's officials to get access to the locations.

Iran told the agency the report was a source of "deep regret and disappointment" and hinted the queries were based on "fabricated information" from "intelligence services".

Israel has previously claimed its intelligence services unearthed information on an alleged previous nuclear weapons program in Iran.

Grossi said that there were "no legal ambiguities" around the requests for access.

"The agency works on the basis of a very rigorous, dogged, meticulous technical and scientific analysis of information," he said, insisting: "Nothing is taken at face value."

Western states have voiced concern over Iran's denial of access to the sites concerned, with the United States being particularly vocal.

Brink of Collapse

The latest row over access comes as a landmark deal between Iran and world powers in 2015 continues to unravel.

Under the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran committed to curtailing its nuclear activities for sanctions relief and other benefits.

But the Islamic republic has slowly abandoned its commitments after US President Donald Trump's decision two years ago to renounce the deal and reimpose harsh sanctions.

Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium is now almost eight times the limit fixed in the accord, according to an IAEA assessment published earlier this month.

However, the level of enrichment is still far below what would be needed for a nuclear weapon.

The IAEA says it continues to have access to all the facilities needed to monitor Iran's current nuclear activity.

The latest tension will further complicate efforts by the deal's EU signatories—the so-called E3 of France, Germany and Britain—to keep the deal from collapsing.

Trump has called for the E3 to follow his lead and leave the deal.

Last month, the US said it was ending sanctions waivers for nations that remain in the Iran nuclear accord—a move likely to have most impact on Russian firms working on Iran's nuclear program.

The American move brought condemnation from the E3 and was branded "unlawful" by Tehran.

Iran is also concerned that the US is pushing for an extension to an international arms embargo against Tehran which is set to be progressively eased from October.

Last week Iranian President Hassan Rouhani urged other UN Security Council members, especially veto-wielding China and Russia, to stand against the American "conspiracy".

Photo: Wikicommons

Iran Challenges Nuclear Watchdog Report Over Cooperation

Iran insists it is ready to resolve any issues with the UN nuclear watchdog, expressing "disappointment" in a note circulated Thursday over the IAEA's latest report complaining of blocked access.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a report seen by AFP last Friday that Iran has for months blocked inspections at two sites where nuclear activity may have occurred in the past.

The Vienna-based agency noted "with serious concern that, for over four months, Iran has denied access to the agency... to two locations.”

In a note to the IAEA dated June 8, Iran said it had held meetings with agency representatives in Tehran on April 29 and May 16 to discuss the access issues, followed by written correspondence and a fresh proposal to meet with IAEA representatives.

In the note circulated by Tehran's mission to the UN in Vienna on Thursday, Iran insisted it "continued its constructive engagement with the agency during the past two months, with a view to reach a common understanding... which would pave the way for the resolution of concerned issues."

Iran argues that the requests for access are based on "fabricated information", accusing the United States and Israel of trying to "exert pressure on the agency.”

Israel has claimed that its intelligence services have new information on Iran's alleged previous nuclear weapons program.

The IAEA has said previously that its access requests were based on "concrete information" that had been validated.

In its note, Iran expressed "deep regret and disappointment" at the IAEA's latest report.

The report is expected to be discussed at a meeting of the agency's board of governors starting next Monday.

In a separate report, also to be discussed during the board meeting, the IAEA warned that Iran's enriched uranium stockpile is now almost eight times the limit set in the nuclear deal the country signed with world powers in 2015.

Iran has been progressively breaking restrictions laid down in the 2015 deal in retaliation for US withdrawal from the accord in 2018 and its subsequent re-imposition of sanctions.

Photo: IRNA

Iran Urges Powers to Oppose US Arms Embargo Bid

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday urged UN Security Council members, especially veto-wielding China and Russia, to oppose a US "conspiracy" to extend an arms embargo on Iran.

"We will reach a point... when, based on Resolution 2231, all arms embargoes on Iran will be lifted," said Rouhani

"The Americans are already angry and upset... and are preparing a resolution and want to bring it to the Security Council," he told a televised cabinet meeting.

The ban on selling weapons to Iran is set to be progressively eased from October in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

The weapons include battle tanks, combat aircraft, warships and missiles or missile systems, according to the resolution.

But a UN embargo on materials, goods, equipment and technology that Iran could use for its ballistic missile program will remain in place until October 2023.

The European Union has said it will continue to enforce its own arms embargo against Iran after the lifting of the first UN embargo.

Resolution 2231 blessed the landmark international agreement reached in 2015 that placed limits on Iran's nuclear program.

US President Donald Trump withdrew from the accord—known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—in 2018 and began reimposing sanctions on Iran.

The United Nations Security Council includes among its 15 members five veto-wielding permanent members—Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States.

Rouhani appealed to those other than the United States to oppose its bid to extend the arms embargo.

"We expect the four permanent members to stand against this conspiracy, for global interests, global stability," he said.

"We especially expect (this from) our two friendly countries, Russia and China."

Washington said last week it had shared a draft resolution with Russia to extend the ban, with Moscow and Beijing having already voiced opposition to he measure.

"Russia and China need to join a global consensus on Iran's conduct," said Kelly Craft, the US ambassador to the UN.

“This is an absolute imperative that we exercise all our options to make certain that this UN arms embargo is extended."

Even though Trump has left the nuclear accord, his administration has argued that the US remains a participant under Resolution 2231 and can trigger UN sanctions for Iran's non-compliance with the 2015 deal.

Yet according to the EU's top diplomat Josep Borrell, the US "cannot claim they are still part of the JCPOA to deal with this issue" after leaving it.

Iran, which has gradually scaled back its commitments to the accord in response to the renewed US sanctions, has dismissed the US argument as without any legal standing and warned that extending the embargo would mean the death of the nuclear accord.

Photo: IRNA

UN Nuclear Watchdog Has 'Serious Concern' at Iran Denying Inspections

By Jastinder Khera

Iran has now accumulated enriched uranium at nearly eight times the limit of a 2015 deal and has for months blocked inspections at sites where historic nuclear activity may have occurred, the UN watchdog said Friday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) noted "with serious concern that, for over four months, Iran has denied access to the Agency... to two locations," according to a report seen by AFP.

The IAEA has questions as to the possible "use or storage of nuclear material" at the two sites and that one of them "may have been used for the processing and conversion of uranium ore including fluorination in 2003".

The aforementioned site "underwent significant changes in 2004, including the demolition of most buildings", the IAEA report noted.

A third site where the IAEA has queries about the possible presence of undeclared natural uranium "underwent extensive sanitization and leveling in 2003 and 2004," according to the report.

The findings are expected to be discussed at a meeting of the agency's board of governors, which has been delayed until the week starting June 15.

The United States has been particularly vocal in its criticism of Iran for 
refusing access to the sites.

A diplomatic source said that they "expect that the board will be united to request Iran to provide access" for the agency.

Escalating Tensions

In a separate report, the IAEA warned that Iran's enriched uranium stockpile is now almost eight times the limit set in a 2015 deal.

The limit was 300 kilograms (661 pounds) of enriched uranium in a particular compound form, which is the equivalent of 202.8 kg of uranium. 

In comparison to the latter number, the report said Iran's stockpile stood at 1,571.6 kg on May 20.

The highest level of enrichment in the stockpile is currently 4.5 percent, over the deal's limit of 3.67 percent but far below the more than 90 percent level experts say would be necessary for a nuclear weapon.

A diplomatic source said that Iran's rate of enrichment had not significantly changed since the agency's previous report on the issue in early March. 

The IAEA says that it still has access to all the nuclear sites needed in order to monitor Iran's current nuclear activity despite difficulties caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

The agency has been chartering aircraft to get its inspectors to Iran due to the collapse in availability of commercial flights to the country, which has been hard hit COVID-19.

Inspectors are also being tested for the virus before departing for Iran and before they return. 

Iran has been progressively breaking the restrictions laid down in the 2015 deal in retaliation for US President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the accord in 2018 and the US's subsequent re-imposition of sanctions. 

Iran reached the deal to curb its nuclear activities in return for sanctions relief with the United States—under president Barack Obama—Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China.

Last week the US said it was ending waivers in its sanctions for nations that remain in the Iran nuclear accord, bringing the deal further to the verge of collapse.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington escalated after Trump abandoned the deal and the long-standing enemies have appeared to come to the brink of a direct conflict twice in the past year.

The most recent was in January when Iran fired a barrage of missiles at US troops stationed in Iraq in retaliation for a US drone strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian general.

 Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Friday brushed aside Trump's hopes of diplomatic progress after the two countries carried out a prisoner swap.

"We achieved humanitarian swap *despite* your subordinates' efforts," Zarif tweeted, emphasizing that it was the US that had walked away from the 2015 deal.

Photo: Wikicommons

UN Nuclear Watchdog Asks Iran to 'Immediately' Cooperate

The head of the UN's atomic watchdog on Monday urged Iran to "cooperate immediately and fully" with a landmark nuclear agreement with world powers that is hanging by a thread.

The agency called on Iran to provide access to two locations, and said Tehran had failed to engage "in substantive discussions" to clarify the agency's questions, said Rafael Grossi, the new chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Grossi said the IAEA had raised questions "related to possible undeclared nuclear material and nuclear-related activities at three locations that have not been declared by Iran.”

He added that the lack of access to two of the three sites and Iran's failure to engage in talks was "adversely affecting the agency's ability... to provide credible assurance of the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran". 

An IAEA report last week revealed that Tehran refused the agency access in January to the two sites.

Diplomats say these are related to Iran's alleged military nuclear projects in the 2000s, and not its current activities.

But the renewed focus on Iran's historic program could add to current tensions.

Iran's UN ambassador in Vienna, Kazem Gharib Abadi, said last week that Tehran had no obligation to grant IAEA access to sites if it deems the requests to be based on "fabricated information", accusing the US and Israel of trying to "exert pressure on the agency.”

Israel has claimed that its intelligence services have new information on the alleged previous nuclear weapons program in Iran.

A second IAEA report last week outlined Iran's continued breaches of the terms of the 2015 nuclear accord, but did not report any restrictions in access to nuclear facilities.

Speaking at a quarterly meeting of IAEA's 35-member Board of Governors, Grossi said "to date, the agency has not observed any changes to Iran's implementation of its nuclear-related commitments" since January when Tehran announced it would cease all obligations.

The 2015 accord—offering Tehran sanctions relief in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities -- has been faltering since the US withdrew from it in 2018 and re-imposed harsh sanctions on Iran.

This has prompted Tehran to progressively abandon the accord's restrictions since last year. 

Other parties to the deal—China, Britain, Germany, France and Russia—have been meeting with Tehran to try to save the accord.

Photo: IAEA

IAEA Chief Demands 'Clarifications' on Iran's Nuclear Program

By Didier Lauras and Jastinder Khera

The head of the UN's atomic watchdog on Tuesday sounded the alarm at Iran's cooperation with the agency and demanded "clarifications" over an undeclared site in Tehran where uranium particles were found late last year.

It comes on the same day as the IAEA issued two reports, one on Iran's current nuclear program and the other detailing its denial of access to two sites the agency wanted to visit.

Rafael Grossi, the new head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who was in Paris to meet President Emmanuel Macron, told AFP: "Iran must decide to cooperate in a clearer manner with the agency to give the necessary clarifications."

"The fact that we found traces (of uranium) is very important. That means there is the possibility of nuclear activities and material that are not under international supervision and about which we know not the origin or the intent.

"That worries me," Grossi added.

The IAEA has for months been pressing Tehran for information about the kind of activities being carried out at the undeclared site where the uranium particles were found.

While the IAEA has not identified the site in question, diplomatic sources told AFP the agency asked Iran about a site in the Turquzabad district of Tehran, where Israel has alleged secret atomic activity in the past.

In addition, according to a report issued by the IAEA on Tuesday, "the Agency identified a number of questions related to possible undeclared nuclear material and nuclear-related activities at three locations in Iran".

At one of them the report said the IAEA had from early July 2019 observed "activities... consistent with effort to sanitize part of the location".

A diplomatic source said that the three locations were separate to Turquzabad.

The source also said that the agency's queries were thought to relate to Iran's historic nuclear activities and not to its compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

The IAEA report says the agency first raised questions about the sites last year and that Iran refused access to two of them that the agency wished to visit in late January.

Iran then sent the IAEA a letter saying it did "not recognize any allegation on past activities and does not consider itself obliged to respond to such allegations".

Deal in Danger

The second report from the agency detailed Iran's current breaches of several parts of a landmark 2015 international deal on scaling back its nuclear programme.

The report showed Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium now stands at more than five times the limit fixed under the accord.

It said that as of February 19, 2020 the Iranian stockpile stood at the equivalent of 1,510 kilogrammes, as opposed to the 300 kg limit set under the agreement.

Some experts consider this amount to provide sufficient material to produce a nuclear weapon, depending on its exact level of purity.

However, it would still need several more steps, including further enrichment, to make it suitable for use in a weapon.

The report says that Iran has not been enriching uranium above 4.5 percent.

An enrichment level of around 90 percent would be needed for weapons use.

Richard Nephew, a former lead US sanctions expert during the negotiations for the 2015 deal, pointed out that while the latest figures were "a problem (that)... needs to be addressed", Iran's uranium stockpile remains a fraction of what it was before the deal actually came into force.

"This remains not yet a crisis and we have time to fix it diplomatically, if anyone in Washington or Tehran is still so inclined," he said on Twitter.

The 2015 deal has been hanging by a thread since the US withdrew from it in May 2018 and went on to impose stinging sanctions on Iran, in particular targeting its vital oil sector.

The latest IAEA reports come just days after a meeting in Vienna of the remaining parties to the deal ended without a clear plan to keep the accord alive.

The 2015 agreement promised Iran an easing of very damaging economic and other sanctions in return for scaling back its nuclear programme.

Tehran has been progressively reducing its commitments to the accord in retaliation for the US move.

Photo: Wikicommons

EU Calls Iran Nuclear Talks Next Month in Bid to Save Deal

By Damon Wake

Brussels made a bid to buy more time to save the Iran nuclear deal Friday, calling a meeting for next month after Britain, France and Germany launched a dispute process.

The European capitals triggered the complaint mechanism last week after Tehran took a series of steps away from its commitments, in protest at the US pulling out of the accord in 2018.

This could have shortened the deal's lifespan but Josep Borrell, the EU's diplomatic chief, who is tasked with convening meetings under the dispute mechanism, has called new talks.

Borrell said he had consulted the countries still in the deal -- which also include Russia and China -- and that all are determined to save the accord.

The Iran nuclear deal has been crumbling since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew and reimposed sanctions on Tehran, prompting the Islamic republic to announce a series of steps away from its commitments.

"Notwithstanding differences on modalities, there is agreement that more time is needed due to the complexity of the issues involved. The timeline is therefore extended," Borrell said in a statement.

"All agreed to pursue expert-level discussions addressing the concerns regarding nuclear implementation, as well as the wider impacts of the withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA and its re-imposition of sanctions."

JCPOA is an acronym for the deal's formal title, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Borrell said the so-called joint commission that oversees the deal and comprises representatives of all the countries involved will meet in February, though he did not give a precise date.

It usually meets in Vienna, though it can also meet in New York or Geneva.

Room for Maneuver

Under the terms of the dispute mechanism, senior officials have 15 days from the January 14 triggering of the complaint mechanism to find a solution before deciding whether to escalate the issue to foreign ministers level.

By calling the meeting in February, Borrell has extended that initial timeline -- which was conceived to solve technical complaints rather than the slow political collapse of the accord.

European officials say a certain amount of creative ambiguity was deliberately written into the text to allow room for manoeuvre in a crisis, and it now looks likely the dispute process could be prolonged for quite some time.

When they triggered the mechanism, the Europeans urged Iran to come back into full compliance with its obligations under the 2015 accord, which gave Tehran relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear programme aimed at preventing it from developing atomic weapons.

But, privately, diplomats recognise it is highly unlikely Iran will do this without substantial concessions in return -- such as an end to US sanctions or Europe taking measures to offset their economic impact.

Instead they will be content if talks manage to convince Iran not to take any more steps away from the deal, giving space for back-channel diplomacy aimed at an agreement that gets both Washington and Tehran back in the game.

"We want to get round a table to work out what is the fix to get us into a stable place where things won't get worse," one diplomat said.

"It might be possible to get informal agreement on restraint."

Bomb 'Not Around the Corner'

After repeated warnings, Germany, Britain and France triggered the dispute process on January 14 after Iran announced it would no longer observe limits on the number of centrifuges—used to enrich uranium—in its fifth step back from the deal.

But crucially Iran has said it will continue to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which carries out regular detailed inspections on the ground.

A western diplomat said that, for the Europeans, it was "critical that is maintained".

"The IAEA still has full access, which gives us reassurance about the activities the Iranians are doing. Agency access, verification and monitoring give us confidence that we would know if the Iranian activities are changing in nature," the diplomat said.

For now the Europeans are looking to get Iran back on board rather than reimposing sanctions, and they are keenly aware that they could lose control of the dispute process if it moves to the next stage—notifying the UN Security Council.

If this happens, UN sanctions automatically "snap back" after 30 days unless the Security Council votes to stop them—and here the US would be able to wield its veto.

"They've broken the limits, we're watching. A bomb is not around the corner but we don't want to get to that," a diplomat said.

Photo: Wikicommons