Amano: Iran has adhered to the JCPOA; Verification of Safeguards Information is Time-Consuming

Ten days after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced in its quarterly report that Iran continues to adhere to its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA, Yukiya Amano, the Director General of this international body, confirmed this in his report to the Board of Governors. Mr. Amano's statements were made at the beginning of the IAEA Board of Governors' quarterly meeting, which commenced on Monday, March 4, at the agency's headquarters in Vienna. In his report to the Board of Governors, the Director General noted that "Iran is implementing its nuclear commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action" and stated, "The continuation of Iran's full implementation of these commitments is key." According to the text of the nuclear agreement signed in July 2015 between Iran and six world powers, the mission of monitoring and verifying Iran's commitments has been assigned to the IAEA, which publishes its report on this matter every three months. The new IAEA report is the fourteenth report and the third report since the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, confirming that Iran has been committed to its nuclear obligations under the JCPOA. Yukiya Amano announced in March 2016 the establishment of an office titled "IAEA Safeguards Verification Office" dedicated to Iran within the agency's safeguards framework. In his speech on Monday, Mr. Amano also referred to this issue, stating that the IAEA's verification regarding the non-diversion of declared nuclear materials by Iran continues under the "Safeguards Agreement." He also added that the IAEA is analyzing "all relevant safeguards information" in a time-consuming process and will take appropriate action in due time. However, U.S. and Israeli officials in recent months have raised serious doubts about the Islamic Republic's commitment to ceasing its nuclear programs, referencing documents obtained from a building in "Torqozabad." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on April 28 this year in a television program that his country's agents, by infiltrating a building in Torqozabad, south of Tehran, had obtained thousands of documents regarding Iran's clandestine nuclear activities. About five months later, in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly in September, Netanyahu stated that the Islamic Republic has not abandoned its goal of acquiring nuclear weapons and that IAEA inspectors should "immediately go to the secret nuclear warehouse in Torqozabad." The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson denied the existence of a secret nuclear warehouse and called Netanyahu's statements "a show and display." Yukiya Amano also responded to Netanyahu's suggestion by stating, "IAEA inspectors have gone to any point in Iran that needs to be monitored." However, a think tank in the U.S. after extensive review of some documents obtained from Torqozabad, which Israel had provided to several media outlets and think tanks, published more details about the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. John Bolton, the White House National Security Advisor, also cited this think tank's report, accusing Iranian officials of providing the IAEA with "incomplete and deliberately false" information.