Amano to Radio Free Europe: The important issue is Iran and the 5+1's commitment to implementing the JCPOA

Yukiya Amano, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, told Radio Free Europe on Saturday, February 12, that the more important issue than the location of Iran's enriched uranium storage is "the commitment of Iran and the 5+1 group to their obligations under the comprehensive nuclear agreement." In recent days, the issue of the removal of enriched uranium from Iran, which was one of Tehran's commitments in the comprehensive agreement, has made headlines in the United States. Steven Mull, the senior U.S. coordinator, stated during a meeting of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that he was unaware of the exact location of several tons of low-enriched uranium that had been removed from Iran in accordance with the Vienna nuclear agreement. Mull added that the protection of these reserves is a matter concerning Russia. The admission by this senior U.S. official of not knowing the location of Iran's enriched uranium storage in Russia has caused dissatisfaction among some lawmakers critical of the nuclear agreement. In this regard, Chris Smith, a Republican representative from New Jersey, stated that it is "disturbing and unbelievable" that Russia has been trusted to store such sensitive materials. However, on Saturday, the Director General of the IAEA, who participated in the Munich Security Conference, confirmed that Iran's enriched uranium has been sent to Russia. Nevertheless, in response to a question from Hana Kavyani of Radio Free Europe about whether the Agency monitors these materials, he stated that "the Agency's regulations do not allow for the disclosure of monitoring details," and therefore he could not comment on this matter. On December 29 of this year, John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, welcomed the transfer of a significant portion of Iran's enriched uranium reserves to Russia, referring to this action as one of the most important steps in fulfilling Tehran's commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Iran's action to transfer a significant portion of its enriched uranium to Russia, which included all of Iran's 20 percent enriched uranium reserves, along with the removal of the core of the Arak heavy water reactor, were two major commitments by Iran under the framework of the comprehensive nuclear agreement that facilitated the confirmation of Iran's fulfillment of its commitments by the Agency and ultimately led to the lifting of nuclear sanctions against Tehran.