Iran sticks to nuclear deal, IAEA report shows

VIENNA: Iran is honouring the nuclear restrictions set out in its deal with major world powers and is not hampering international inspections, a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) has showed.

The Islamic Republic continued to limit its uranium enrichment programme during the past three months, the Vienna-based IAEA said in its latest quarterly update that was seen by this agency.

Under its 2015 deal with the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China, Tehran has scaled down its enrichment programme and other nuclear activities, in an effort to prevent it from building nuclear weapons. Economic sanctions were lifted in return.

Iran has allowed IAEA inspectors to probe whether nuclear material is being misused for military purposes by granting access to facilities, according to the report.

Iran recently restated its intention to build nuclear propulsion system for ships in the future, the document said.

The nuclear deal is subject to increasing pressure from US President Donald Trump, who doubts that the it gives the IAEA sufficient inspection rights. In January, Trump warned that the US will withdraw from the pact unless it is amended to place additional nuclear restrictions on Iran.

While the IAEA has been certifying that Tehran is honouring its obligations, Trump has criticised the fact that some curbs will eventually be lifted, rather than staying in place forever.

The US president is also unhappy that the deal has yielded economic benefits for the Islamic Republic, which he says are funding Iran’s involvement in terrorism and in conflicts such as the Syrian war.