Displaying items by tag: nuclear deal

US secretary of state Antony Blinken said, ‘The US and its allies want to bring Iran back into compliance with the nuclear deal, including looking at all of the options necessary if diplomacy doesn’t work.’ He was commenting on US talks with Germany, France and Britain about Iran. ‘We are absolutely together in lockstep on how we are approaching the challenge of getting Iran back into compliance with the nuclear agreement,’ he said. ‘And that’s new because we’ve actually been at odds in recent years. But we do not yet know if Iran is willing to come back, engage in a meaningful way, and get back into compliance. If it isn’t, if it won’t, then we are looking together at all of the options necessary to deal with this problem.’

The governments of the UK, Germany and France have expressed ‘grave concern’ over Iran’s move to boost uranium enrichment to 60% in response to what Tehran says was an attack by Israel against its key nuclear facility at Natanz. The three European countries say the announcement is ‘particularly regrettable’ at a time when talks in Vienna have resumed, including the United States, to revive the 2015 nuclear deal. They also said this was showing Iran to be on the path to a nuclear weapon, adding, ‘Iran has no credible civilian need for enrichment at this level’.

Last week we prayed for the nations to work towards ending Iran’s history of making weapons-grade nuclear material in underground facilities while denying their existence. This week the USA has joined talks in Vienna aimed at reviving the Iran nuclear deal which the Trump administration abandoned in 2018. Acting as intermediaries, officials from the UK, France, and Germany are shuttling between two hotels in the Austrian capital. Diplomats from the two other remaining parties, Russia and China, are also attending. President Biden has said he wants to return to the landmark accord. But the six remaining states need to find a way for him to lift the sanctions imposed by his predecessor and for Iran to return to the agreed limits on its nuclear programme. Iran has said it will not meet the USA face to face until that happens.

Boris Johnson has said that the Iran nuclear deal should be replaced with a ‘Trump’ deal. He recognised US concerns that the 2015 deal was ‘flawed’, but there had to be a way of stopping Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons. His comments come amid reports that the UK, France and Germany intend to try to rescue the situation by triggering a dispute mechanism in the 2015 deal - which was abandoned by the US in 2018. Boris said, ‘Somehow, we have to stop Iran acquiring nuclear weapons. If we're going to remove we need a replacement. From the American perspective, it is a flawed deal negotiated by President Obama. Let's work together to replace it with the Trump deal. That's what we need to see. President Trump is a great dealmaker by his own account, and by many others.’

President Hassan Rouhani has said that on 7 July his country would exceed the 3.67% uranium enrichment limit set by the 2015 nuclear deal by ‘as much as necessary, as much as we need’. Iran will reverse this action if the other parties to the deal - Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia - abide by their commitments. The agreed enrichment limit is sufficient for power generation, but far below the 90% level needed to manufacture nuclear weapons. Rouhani also said Iran would restart construction of a heavy water reactor, and bring it to the condition that ‘according to you, is dangerous and can produce plutonium’. Iran has often threatened such action unless it gets some relief from the sanctions imposed on the country. The five other signatories of the deal are struggling to keep it afloat after US president Donald Trump walked out of it last year.

The UN nuclear monitoring agency says Iran continues to comply with a landmark 2015 nuclear deal, although its stockpiles of low-enriched uranium and heavy water are growing.

The finding by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is included in its latest quarterly report distributed to member states.

In its report on May 31, the agency said the IAEA found Iran had stayed within key limitations spelled out in the agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.

The 2015 deal between Iran and world powers offered Tehran economic incentives -- mainly sanctions relief -- in return for curbing its nuclear program.

However, it has been complicated by Washington's withdrawal last year coupled with reinstated and increased U.S. sanctions.

Earlier this month, Iran announced it would increase its enrichment of uranium beyond levels allowed under the JCPOA if it could not find a way within 60 days to shield itself from U.S. sanctions on its economy and oil industry.

A week ago, Iran said it had increased its capacity to enrich uranium, though only of the lower-enriched uranium allowed under the agreement.

The fresh IAEA quarterly report, however, found Iran continued to comply with the JCPOA and said its inspectors had been given unfettered access to Iranian nuclear facilities.

"Timely and proactive cooperation by Iran in providing such access facilitates implementation of the additional protocol and enhances confidence," the report stated, referring to the procedure detailing safeguards and tools for verification.

According to the IAEA report, Iran's heavy water stockpile rose from 124.8 tons in February to 125.2 tons as of May 26. That’s still below the 130-ton limit.

Its stock of low-enriched uranium was 174.1 kilograms as of May 20, up from 163.8 kilograms in February, the IAEA found. The limit set out by the JCPOA is 202.8 kilograms.

It added that Iran had not enriched any uranium above the level allowed by the JCPOA.

"All centrifuges and associated infrastructure in storage have remained under continuous agency monitoring," the IAEA said.

Trump last year pulled out of the deal which he criticized for neither addressing the Islamic republic's nuclear and missile programs, nor its actions in regional hot spots ranging from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the wars in Syria and Yemen.

In recent weeks, tensions have risen in and around the Strait of Hormuz, a key petroleum shipping route at the mouth of the Persian Gulf that Iran has threatened to block.

Earlier this month, Washington announced the deployment of an aircraft carrier battle group and a bomber task force to the Gulf to counter what U.S. officials called "clear indications" of threats from Iran to U.S. interests or its allies in the region.

Amid the deployment, attacks were carried out against oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

The United States and many Arab countries blamed Iran and its proxies for those attacks and others on oil pumping stations in Saudi Arabia.

Tehran has denied any involvement in the incidents.

Pray: that amidst threats and rhetoric, an end to this standoff can be achieved.

Pray: that the alleged attacks on oil tankers by Iran will stop.

Pray: with thanks that there is apparently still a degree of compliance by Iran with previous agreements, that the compliance will continue.

Pray: that talks will resume with respect and mutual understanding by all parties.

Based on reporting by AP, AFP, and dpa

More at: https://www.rferl.org/a/iaea-report-says-iran-continues-to-comply-with-nuclear-deal/29974795.html

Ali Akbar Salehi, Iran’s nuclear programme chief, said on 29 October that Iran can begin producing weapons-grade nuclear material quickly if the nuclear deal with foreign powers fails, and insisted that international inspectors would not be given access to Iranian military sites. In early October President Trump told the world, ‘Iran is not in compliance with the deal, and it needs to be renegotiated even though our allies, and even our enemies, do not agree.’ Mr Trump said that the agreement had not curbed Iran’s missile programme and destabilising activities in the Middle East. Mr Salehi said that, although Tehran prefers to keep the agreement intact, they could quickly ramp up uranium enrichment to produce 20% enriched uranium in four days. He made these comments after meeting the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano. Mr Amano also met President Rouhani and foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. See