Reza Najafi: U.S. Commitment to JCPOA Unacceptable for Iran

The Iranian representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called for the U.S. to fulfill its commitments under the JCPOA and stated that the implementation of these commitments by the U.S. has not been acceptable to Iran so far. The IAEA's quarterly meeting began on Tuesday with the presentation of Yukiya Amano's quarterly report to the Board of Governors and will continue until Friday. According to the government's information website, Reza Najafi, Iran's representative in this international body, said on Wednesday, June 14, that the discussion about Iran in the Board of Governors lasted only one hour, which he interpreted as indicating that "the discussion on the implementation of the JCPOA in Iran is proceeding smoothly and is not a specific problem." The Iranian representative stated: "We have announced that Iran's nuclear program continues within the framework of the JCPOA, and the Agency's report shows that Iran has fulfilled all its commitments, but we emphasized that the continuation and sustainability of the JCPOA is conditional on the mutual and complete implementation of all commitments by the 1+5 countries, and we have stated that the implementation of JCPOA commitments by the U.S. has not been acceptable to Iran so far, and the U.S. must fulfill its commitments." Najafi also mentioned that Iran is negotiating to sell its excess heavy water to purchasing countries. According to the Vienna nuclear agreement (JCPOA), Iran has committed to sell any excess heavy water if it has more than 130 tons. Based on the latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency published on June 1, Iran's heavy water stockpile has reached 128.2 tons. The Iranian representative noted that previously some heavy water was sold to the U.S., and Iran transported this shipment to the U.S. via Oman. Yukiya Amano announced on Tuesday that according to the Agency's information, 20 tons of heavy water will soon be exported from Iran. Two days before Reza Najafi's statements, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, criticized the Trump administration regarding the nuclear agreement, stating: "Unfortunately, the behavior of the new government in Washington is not very promising." The Iranian foreign minister, who participated in the Oslo Forum, announced that he sent a message regarding the "breaches of trust by the U.S." to Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief. He later discussed regional issues and the JCPOA with Ms. Mogherini in Oslo. Mr. Zarif particularly described the U.S. Senate's move to draft new sanctions against Iran as "short-sighted" and indicative of a "wrong policy" that "the U.S. government, especially after the recent elections, has pursued." On Wednesday, June 7, the U.S. Senate, with 97 votes in favor and 2 against, paved the way for the approval of new sanctions against Tehran. In the new Senate proposal, Iran will be sanctioned for its ballistic missile program, "support for terrorism," and "human rights violations." On Sunday, Abbas Araghchi, head of the JCPOA follow-up task force, announced that the JCPOA joint commission will likely be formed in July this year and stated that if new U.S. sanctions are implemented, Iran will view it as a violation of the JCPOA. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, has called the JCPOA the worst agreement he has ever seen. He promised during his election campaign to withdraw from this agreement. John Kerry, Secretary of State under Barack Obama, has stated that these new sanctions could send the message to the people that the 2015 nuclear agreement (JCPOA) has not benefited them.