Latest Agency Report: Iran Remains Committed to Its Obligations Under the JCPOA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced in its latest quarterly report on Friday, March 3, that Iran continues to adhere to its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). According to the Associated Press, the IAEA's latest report distributed among its members states that Iran has complied with all key restrictions imposed under the JCPOA. This is the fourteenth report from the agency since the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers in July 2015. The United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany reached an agreement in Vienna in 2015 to resolve Iran's nuclear crisis. Under this agreement, Iran accepted limitations on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of nuclear sanctions against it. Mike Pence: Europeans should withdraw from the nuclear agreement with Iran. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, who has been a staunch opponent of the JCPOA, has always referred to this agreement as 'the worst deal' that Washington has ever signed. He ultimately withdrew from the agreement on May 8, 2018, and reinstated two rounds of U.S. sanctions against Tehran that had been suspended as a result of the JCPOA. The U.S. has not only exited the agreement but has also encouraged European countries that are part of the agreement to withdraw from it. The IAEA has confirmed in its reports after the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA that Iran remains committed to the agreement. A senior diplomat told the Associated Press that there has been no significant change in Iran's level of cooperation in implementing the JCPOA since the U.S. withdrawal. This diplomat, who requested anonymity, added that Iran continues its cooperation at the same previous level. The IAEA's latest report states that inspectors from this international agency still have access to all of Iran's nuclear sites and facilities. The report noted that Iran's cooperation in providing such access, while facilitating the implementation of the Additional Protocol, enhances trust. The IAEA also stated that Iran's heavy water and low-enriched uranium stocks remain within the levels set in the 2015 agreement. In this context, Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's ambassador and representative to the IAEA, also stated: 'In this report, as in the previous thirteen reports from the Director General of the IAEA, it is specified that since the implementation of the nuclear agreement, the agency has continued to monitor and verify Iran's compliance with the provisions of the JCPOA.'