Yukiya Amano: The Failure of the JCPOA is a Major Loss for Verification

The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed Iran's compliance with its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), stating that the failure of the JCPOA would be a "major loss" for verification. Yukiya Amano made these remarks on Monday, March 5, at the beginning of the quarterly meeting of the Board of Governors consisting of 35 countries, adding: "The JCPOA is an important victory for verification. If the agreement fails, it will be a significant loss for verification and multilateralism." It seems the Director General's remarks refer to the threats from Donald Trump, the President of the United States, who has stated that if the "catastrophic flaws" of the nuclear agreement with Iran are not resolved, Washington will likely withdraw from the JCPOA. He outlined four conditions that, if met by European countries, would lead the U.S. to remain in the agreement. These conditions include: "immediate access" for international inspectors to all sites and facilities in Iran, the permanent limitation of Iran's nuclear program, guarantees against approaching nuclear weapons, and restrictions on Iran's long-range missile program. Since taking office, the U.S. President has repeatedly called the JCPOA the "worst deal" he has ever seen. The responsibility for verifying and confirming compliance with this agreement lies with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and the Director General of this body has consistently confirmed this compliance over the past two years. On Monday, Amano reiterated this compliance in his new report, noting that he has requested more information from Iran regarding its plans for nuclear propulsion for ships. According to the Director General, Iran has not yet responded to this request. Amano stated: "The Agency has asked Iran to clarify its program for developing a nuclear fuel cycle for marine nuclear propulsion." In this regard, Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, told the "Al-Alam" television network that "this issue is a long-term discussion and is not related to one or two years; it may take about 10 years for us to have nuclear propulsion." According to ISNA news agency, Kamalvandi added: "Because we have the largest coastline in the open seas among the regional countries and the highest number of ships, for example, in the case of oil tankers, we have the world's largest fleet in terms of number and capacity, so nuclear propulsion may be used in this regard." The spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran stated that "decisions have been made in this regard, the budget has been allocated, initial research work has started, and we have also informed the Agency about this based on Code 3.1." "Returning to 20% enrichment within 48 hours" Kamalvandi further stated in another part of his interview that Iran's nuclear facilities are not only capable of returning to the pre-JCPOA status within "48 hours" but can also advance "several times beyond the previous level." He added: "We can not only return to the previous status but can also advance several times beyond it. Our options are very open. In terms of the level and amount of enrichment, the number of centrifuges, and other factors, we can take rapid actions." The spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran provided an example: "If we want to enrich to 20%, we can take action in less than 48 hours. Based on new machines we are employing, we can increase the speed of enrichment." According to reports from Reuters, ISNA, and Radio Farda.