Iran envoy: Any counterproductive action by IAEA’s board disrupts talks on JCPOA revival

The Iranian ambassador to international organizations in Vienna has warned the UN nuclear agency about taking any counterproductive measure against Iran during the forthcoming meeting of its Board of Governors, saying that such a measure would “disrupt” future talks on the revival of Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers.

Kazem Gharibabadi made the remarks in Thursday tweets after spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities have become limited to what is stipulated in the Safeguards Agreement.

Behrouz Kamalvandi said all inspections of the country’s nuclear facilities beyond the Safeguards agreement have come to a halt, but the IAEA continues those inspections, which fall within framework of the Safeguards Agreement, in the usual manner.

This came after the IAEA’s chief, Rafael Grossi, claimed in a report that Iran is blocking access to some of its nuclear sites and continues to boost its stocks of uranium enriched above the percentage allowed in the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Iran envoy calls on IAEA to maintain impartiality, professionalism

Iran has called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to maintain its impartiality and professionalism towards the country

The agency’s Board of Governors is scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss the current problems between Iran and the IAEA, with some analysts believing that it may result in a new anti-Iran statement.

In his Thursday tweet, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA warned about “any counterproductive action” against Iran during the forthcoming Board of Governors meeting.

Noting that the UN nuclear agency “cannot disassociate itself from the destiny of the JCPOA,” Iran’s envoy added, “Any counterproductive action, disrupts the negotiation process.”

“Of course, I hope that wisdom prevails in the BoG next week: cooperation for cooperation, goodwill for goodwill, [and] action for action,” he added.

Gharibabadi also advised the IAEA that it “should plan for increasing cooperation and interaction with its MS’s rather to incept mistrust.”

He added, “Depoliticization, impartiality, independence and professionalism are essential for the credibility of @iaeaorg and MSs’ trust in its work.”

Iran and world powers, including the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany, struck the JCPOA on July 14, 2015. Under the accord, Iran agreed to scale back some of its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

However, the US, under former President Donald Trump, unilaterally withdrew from the deal and reinstated crippling sanctions on the Islamic Republic, although the country had been fully compliant with the deal.

Iran and the remaining signatories to the JCPOA have already held six rounds of talks in Vienna, which began after the US administration of President Joe Biden voiced willingness to rejoin the nuclear agreement, three years after Trump’s withdrawal.

Negotiators took a break from the talks after Ebrahim Raeisi emerged victorious in Iran’s June presidential election, waiting for Iran’s democratic transition to take place in order for them to be able to continue the talks, as disagreements remained unresolved on key issues.

Tehran argues that since Washington was the party that violated the terms of the agreement, it should take the first step back into compliance with the deal by removing its unilateral sanctions.

Russia: Iran, IAEA must overcome problems, maintain traditional cooperation

Meanwhile, the Russian ambassador to international organizations in Vienna said in a Thursday tweet, while explaining on the latest tensions between Iran and the IAEA, that the agency’s Board of Governors must call on both sides to overcome their problems.

“I believe the Governors at the session of the Board can and should call upon #Iran and the #IAEA Secretariat to overcome the current problems and to maintain traditional businesslike cooperation,” Mikhail Ulyanov said in his tweet.

Noting that no other action is needed to be taken in this regard, he added that the current rift between Iran and the IAEA is the result of interference by “some external factors.”

Ulyanov had already said in a Wednesday tweet that the next meeting of the IAEA’s Board of Governors will be held next Monday, stressing, “Under no circumstances the discussion should adversely affect the prospects of the #ViennaTalks on #JCPOA.”

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