Unexpected Release of JCPOA Documents by the Agency

On Friday, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) unexpectedly published new documents regarding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which had previously been classified. According to the Associated Press, the content of these documents suggests that Iran has not exceeded the limitations imposed by the JCPOA on uranium enrichment and is currently not in a position to take action towards building a nuclear weapon. These documents were published on Friday, December 23, approximately one year after the nuclear agreement, and some are dated January 6 of this year, prior to the implementation of the JCPOA. A letter from Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy chief, was also published on the IAEA's website, indicating her approval for the release of these documents. The IAEA website did not provide an explanation for the release, but two officials from a UN Security Council member state spoke to the Associated Press about the reasoning behind this action. According to these officials, who wished to remain anonymous, some experts have raised criticisms regarding the implementation of the JCPOA in Iran, and the IAEA has recently warned about monitoring the level of low-enriched uranium in Iran. These officials added that this has been welcomed by some critical lawmakers in the U.S., and currently, the P5+1 and Iran are trying to demonstrate their consensus on the proper implementation of the JCPOA through the release of these documents. The documents were also published following statements from the new U.S. administration, which is set to begin its term in about a month, expressing strong criticism of the JCPOA and the possibility of the U.S. withdrawing from the nuclear agreement with Iran. According to the JCPOA, Iran is only allowed to possess low-enriched uranium, which is not suitable for making nuclear weapons, and the amount of this weak uranium must never exceed 300 kilograms. To build a nuclear weapon, a much larger volume of uranium is required, and even if Iran were to enrich this 300 kilograms to the level needed for bomb-making, it would still face the issue of insufficient uranium quantity. At the time of reaching the nuclear agreement, Iran had over 100 kilograms of low-enriched liquid and solid uranium. Today, some of this amount remains with Iran, and the new documents released on Friday state that this 100 kilograms of uranium is of a type that is 'not recoverable' and cannot be envisioned for use in a nuclear weapons program. This new document emphasizes that the 'non-recoverability' of the existing uranium in Iran means that this 100 kilograms cannot be counted as part of the 300 kilograms permitted for Iran. Global powers, due to concerns about the potential for bomb-making in Iran, were able to reach an agreement with Tehran to control the Islamic Republic's nuclear program after a series of lengthy negotiations; Iran has always deemed these concerns unfounded.