IAEA chief: Inspectors doing their job in Iran ‘without problem’
Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency Yukiya Amano said on Monday Iran is fulfilling its commitments under the nuclear deal with world powers and UN inspectors are facing no problems in their verification efforts.
Amano, whose inspectors are tasked with monitoring compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, reiterated that Iran was adhering to it.
“The IAEA can state that such nuclear-related commitments are being implemented,” Amano told a news conference in Abu Dhabi following a trip to Iran on Sunday where he met with President Hassan Rouhani and other officials, Reuters reported.
“I requested that Iran ... fully implement the nuclear-related commitments. This (was) the main thrust of the meeting in Iran ... Regarding the activities of our inspectors, they are discharging their responsibility without problem,” he said.
Under the agreement, Iran undertook to restrict its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of trade and financial sanctions that had hobbled its oil-based economy.
Amano added that he had told Iranian officials the nuclear deal was a “significant gain for verification”.
Speaking on the sidelines of an international conference on nuclear power in the United Arab Emirates, Amano declined comment on US policy toward Iran and on Iran’s absence from the meeting, which draws together IAEA member states.
“This conference is open to all the countries and we welcome the participation of all the countries,” Amano said. “But of course it depends on each country whether to attend or not. I do not comment on Iran’s participation. It is (up to) Iran to decide.”
US President Donald Trump said earlier this month that he would not continue to certify the multinational agreement, reached under his predecessor Barack Obama, and warned that he might ultimately terminate it.
Iran would abandon the agreement if it were deemed not be serving its national interests, President Rouhani said in reaction to Trump’s decision. But he also said, “No president can revoke an international deal ... (and) Iran will continue to honor its commitments under the deal.”
The other parties to the accord – Britain, Germany, France, Russia, China and the European Union – have all reaffirmed their commitment to it and urged the United States not to back out.