Salehi Says Incomplete Lifting of Sanctions Could Endanger JCPOA's Future

Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, warned on Monday, October 5, that the future of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) could be jeopardized if sanctions are not completely lifted. According to the Associated Press, Salehi made this statement at a public meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna. He also noted that some sanctions that were supposed to be lifted under the nuclear agreement with six world powers remain in place. The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran emphasized that Iran has adhered to all its commitments under the JCPOA, but the comprehensive and rapid lifting of all sanctions that were supposed to be lifted has not yet occurred. However, Salehi did not directly blame any country in his remarks. Some Iranian officials accuse the United States of failing to lift sanctions as per the JCPOA. The implementation of the nuclear agreement began in January of last year. Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, stated on Friday, October 3, at the Council on Foreign Relations in the U.S. that eight months after the Vienna nuclear agreement, no major European bank has been willing to start cooperating with Iran due to concerns over U.S. punitive actions. A day before Zarif's remarks, the Iranian president stated that in a meeting of the committee overseeing the implementation of the Vienna nuclear agreement, 'all' countries told the U.S. that its actions were not in line with the nuclear agreement, and the U.S. promised to rectify this process. Hassan Rouhani had previously accused the U.S. of 'delaying' its commitments during his speech at the United Nations General Assembly. U.S. officials, in response to Iran's criticisms, have stated that they have fulfilled all their commitments under the JCPOA and that some of the current sanctions are related to primary sanctions that are not linked to the nuclear agreement. According to the state news agency IRNA, Salehi told reporters at the end of his speech at the IAEA General Conference: 'Iran has adhered to its commitments to this day, and as expected, the other side has not fulfilled its commitments, and we have warned about this.' In response to these statements from Iranian officials, U.S. officials have repeatedly claimed that they have gone beyond their commitments in the Vienna nuclear agreement to alleviate sanctions on Iran. The U.S. Secretary of State and his counterparts from Britain, Germany, France, along with the EU foreign policy chief, issued a statement on May 30, urging banks and traders not to overlook legal investment opportunities in Iran. These countries have also expressed their readiness to address any doubts in this regard. Some Iranian officials, including Abbas Araqchi, Deputy Foreign Minister, have stated that besides European banks' concerns about sanctions, 'weak financial discipline' of Iranian banks in cooperating with European banks has 'not been ineffective,' and the Central Bank is working to resolve this issue. Since the implementation of the Vienna nuclear agreement, some of Iran's sanctions, including the ban on purchasing Iranian oil, have been lifted, and according to government confirmation, the country's crude oil exports have increased by more than one million barrels per day compared to last year. Additionally, barriers related to the insurance of oil shipments have been lifted, and European markets, along with the lifting of purchasing restrictions from Asian countries, have opened up to Iranian crude oil. Salehi emphasized the confidentiality of Iran's nuclear information, stating that they warned the IAEA to conduct its oversight without bias and without being influenced by major powers and to work on preserving Iran's nuclear information. He mentioned that Iran's nuclear information has industrial, technical, and commercial value and should not be disclosed due to its confidential nature. Following the release of parts of a document related to the nuclear agreement concerning Iran's long-term enrichment program by the Associated Press in July of this year, Iranian officials formally protested to the IAEA regarding the leak of this document. The IAEA rejected the Iranian officials' statements regarding the leak of a 'confidential' document related to the nuclear agreement in a statement on August 8.