IAEA: Iran Has Collected and Transferred Hundreds of Centrifuges from Fordow Facilities

On Monday, January 16, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced that Iran has fulfilled another part of its commitments under the nuclear agreement with the international community by collecting and transferring hundreds of centrifuges from the Fordow facility. According to the nuclear agreement reached last July between Iran and world powers, no enrichment should occur at the Fordow nuclear facility near Qom for 15 years, but Iran is allowed to keep about 1,000 centrifuges for other purposes at this facility. Reuters reports that this announcement from the IAEA will be welcome news for many Western diplomats who are uncertain about Donald Trump's decisions regarding any potential issues in the implementation of the nuclear agreement with Iran. The IAEA stated that the transfer of centrifuges and other equipment from the Fordow facility to the Natanz enrichment center's warehouses was completed within the specified deadline, which was set for January 16, one year after the implementation of the nuclear agreement with Iran. In part of its statement, the IAEA added, 'Iran has collected and transferred additional centrifuges and other equipment from the Fordow enrichment center in line with its commitments and according to the nuclear agreement.' The IAEA, which monitors the restrictions imposed on Iran's nuclear activities, confirmed the transfer of this equipment on Sunday. Reuters adds that with Donald Trump's presidency beginning on February 1, officials closely monitoring Western relations with Iran are waiting to see what position Mr. Trump will take regarding the nuclear agreement with Iran, which ended part of the international sanctions against the country. Donald Trump has described this agreement, which was one of the major achievements of Barack Obama's administration, as 'the worst deal ever.' However, he has retreated from his previous stance of saying, 'I will tear up this deal,' and recently stated, 'We will monitor the implementation of the agreement so strictly that the Iranian government will have no escape route.' In contrast, the Iranian government claims that the U.S. has not fulfilled all its commitments regarding the lifting of sanctions as stipulated in this agreement. The U.S. government has denied these accusations. Nevertheless, Iran has not yet taken any action that would necessitate referring to the mechanism provided in the agreement for resolving serious disputes between the two parties.