Iran will not implement nuclear deal until sanctions are lifted: Nuclear chief

TEHRAN: Iran’s nuclear chief has said his country will not fully implement the 2015 nuclear deal if Western sanctions on Tehran are not completely lifted and other parties do not respect their obligations under the accord. Mohammad Eslami, chairman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), spoke in detail on the country’s nuclear activities and cooperation with the IAEA on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting in the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday, news agency IRNA quoted the official as saying. Made this comment. He said the E3 grouping of France, Britain and Germany could not expect Iran to fully implement the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Xinhua news agency reported. It is known that none of them are fulfilling their obligations under the agreement. Iran’s nuclear measures are being implemented based on a law passed by the Iranian parliament in 2020 to counter US sanctions, he said, adding that the country will continue to implement them until sanctions are completely lifted. . The parliamentary law ordered the government to restrict inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities by the IAEA and to accelerate the development of the country’s nuclear program beyond limits set under the JCPOA. Regarding the AEOI’s cooperation with the IAEA within the framework of the safeguards agreement, Eslami said that Iran has provided the necessary clarifications to the agency during the negotiations and submitted a number of documents, thereby resolving the pending cases and differences between the two parties. Emphasis has been laid on reducing the issues from four to two. Iran signed the JCPOA with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to impose some curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions on the country. However, the US withdrew from the deal in May 2018 and reimposed its own unilateral sanctions on Tehran, forcing Iran to abandon some of its nuclear commitments under the deal. Talks on the revival of the JCPOA began in April 2021 in Vienna, the capital of Austria. Despite several rounds of talks, no significant breakthrough has been achieved since the end of the last round in August 2022.