nuclear-news

U.N. watchdog says Iran continues to comply with nuclear restrictions despite U.S. pullout

WP,  By Tamer El-Ghobashy, August 30  18   The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said Thursday that Iran continues to comply with the terms of a 2015 nuclear pact, despite the United States’ withdrawal from the deal and renewed sanctions that have contributed to an economic crisis.

The International Atomic Energy Agency certified that Tehran is complying with restrictions on its enrichment of uranium and uranium stocks in addition to other provisions, according to a confidential IAEA report reviewed by the Associated Press and Reuters on Thursday. It is the 12th consecutive report affirming Iran’s adherence to the deal that President Trump formally rejected in May by withdrawing from it and reimposing sanctions on Tehran.

…….. It remains unclear whether the IAEA report will aid efforts by the deal’s European signatories — Germany, France and Britain — to save it amid punishing American sanctions. But both Iran and European nations have signaled that maintaining the terms of the accord as they are is unlikely.

On Thursday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Iran must be willing to expand discussions in order to salvage the deal and answer for its ballistic missile program and its role in Middle Eastern conflicts, according to Agence France-Presse.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Wednesday that he doubts Europe will be able to rescue the accord and that Iran may abandon it.

On Thursday, he again expressed his vehement opposition to the possibility of talks with Washington — a prospect that Trump has raised. Khamenei’s series of tweets appeared to quash speculation about a meeting between Trump and Rouhani on the sidelines of next month’s U.N. General Assembly in New York https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/08/30/un-watchdog-says-iran-continues-comply-with-nuclear-restrictions-despite-us-pullout/?utm_term=.86839c9a4b9d

August 31, 2018 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized