Salehi: Only IAEA in charge of verifying Iran’s compliance with JCPOA
Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) is the only official institution in charge of verifying Tehran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
Salehi stressed that the IAEA has verified Tehran’s adherence to its contractual obligations nine times, Tasnim News Agency reported.
He made the remark in response to a question about the stance of US President Donald Trump who has repeatedly said that he believed Iran was not in compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and accused Tehran of not “living up to the spirit” of the “horrible agreement.”
Elsewhere, referring to the JCPOA’S Section T, Salehi said Iran believes that although IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano has requested clarification about how to verify Section T, there is no need for clarification.
Section T bans “activities which could contribute to the development of a nuclear explosive device”. It lists examples such as using computer models that simulate a nuclear bomb, or designing multi-point, explosive detonation systems.
Unlike many other parts of the deal, Section T makes no mention of the IAEA or specifics of how it will be verified. Russia says that means the IAEA has no authority over it.
Iran and the P5+1 group – Russia, China, US, Britain, France, and Germany – on July 14, 2015, reached a conclusion over the text of the JCPOA.
The accord took effect in January 2016 and was supposed to terminate all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran all at once, but its implementation has been hampered mainly due to US policies.