Iran Welcomes Agency Report: 'The Only Way Now is to Close the Case'

A member of the nuclear negotiation team and Iran's representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expressed implicit satisfaction with the agency's report on the military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program, stating that the 'only way' for the IAEA Board of Governors is to close Iran's case. According to the state news agency IRNA, Reza Najafi, Iran's representative at the IAEA, said on Thursday, December 3, that only by closing the case of the potential military dimensions (PMD) of Iran's nuclear program can the path for the implementation of the Vienna nuclear agreement be paved. He added, 'According to the JCPOA and the roadmap, Iran was only committed to carrying out certain actions, which have now been completed, and this report provides a logical path for the Board of Governors, which is to close the case of past issues.' Yukiya Amano, the Director General of the IAEA, in his report on the potential military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program, stated that the Islamic Republic had attempted to develop a nuclear explosive device at least until the end of 2003, but these activities did not go beyond feasibility studies and scientific research. The IAEA also confirmed that it had not found credible evidence of activities related to the development of nuclear weapons in Iran since 2009. In response to this part of the report, Najafi emphasized that Iran's activities before 2003 were 'some scientific studies' about dual-use technologies and 'only for peaceful or conventional purposes.' Najafi stated that the white section of the IAEA Director General's report is larger than the black section. This remark by the Iranian representative refers to Yukiya Amano's statement on Thursday, December 5, that his report on the PMD case would not be absolute black and white. Meanwhile, Hamid Baidi-Nejad, a member of Iran's nuclear negotiation team, described the IAEA report as 'the result of one of the most complex international diplomatic negotiations' and said that after this report, 'we can breathe easily.' He wrote on his Instagram page: 'This report only presents one option for the Board of Governors, which is to close the PMD case; the PMD discussion has now become a thing of the past.' In this context, Abbas Araqchi, a senior member of Iran's nuclear negotiation team, warned on Wednesday evening that after the IAEA report, 'if the smallest window of PMD remains open,' Iran will have no commitment to implementing the Vienna nuclear agreement. According to Araqchi, the P5+1 countries will present a resolution to the IAEA Board of Governors aimed at closing Iran's case within two weeks. The United States announced its readiness to close Iran's case at the IAEA Board of Governors just hours after the agency's report was released. However, Romain Nadal, spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry, stated on Monday, December 9, that the agency must clarify the background of Iran's activities and provide detailed answers to all ambiguities in this regard. If any member of the Board of Governors, including France, expresses dissatisfaction with the IAEA's report on Iran's PMD, the implementation of the final nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers reached in July may face serious delays.