TEHRAN, Jun 28 (NNN-IRNA) – Iran will not deliver records of its nuclear activities to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), after a temporary understanding reached in Jan expired, the speaker of Iran’s parliament said, yesterday.
“Nothing was extended, and therefore none of the items recorded inside will ever be given to the agency,” official Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency, quoted speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, as saying.
Answering a question by a member of parliament in a public session, Qalibaf added that, the records are in possession of the Iranian authorities, and Iran’s Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions (SAPCS) law is being “thoroughly” implemented.
The SAPCS act was passed by Iran’s parliament in Dec, 2020, requiring, among other measures, the Iranian executive branch to stop implementing the Additional Protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by Feb 23, in case the U.S. anti-Iran sanctions were not lifted.
The IAEA and Iranian officials reached a temporary understanding in Feb, to keep the IAEA’s monitoring cameras under Iran’s supervision for a period of three months up to May 24, and deliver the records to the agency, only after sanctions on Iran are lifted.
On Friday, the IAEA required an “immediate response” from Iran, regarding the “possible continued collection, recording and retention of data,” as contemplated in the temporary understanding, media reported.
Iran’s ambassador to Vienna-based international organisations, Kazem Gharibabadi, said on Saturday, in a televised interview, that Iran’s continued collection of data was “solely based on good will, and not as part of its obligations” towards the IAEA.
“Iran is not bound by any commitment to implement the agency’s demand,” and has “no duty to report on the expired agreement,” Gharibabadi added.
Also on Saturday, spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry warned that, Tehran will not negotiate endlessly over the revival of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, urging the United States to abandon the “failed legacy” of former President, Donald Trump.
The U.S. government, under Trump, withdrew from the international deal in May, 2018, and unilaterally reimposed sanctions on Iran. In response, Iran gradually stopped implementing parts of its commitments to the agreement, from May, 2019.
The Joint Commission of the nuclear agreement began to meet offline on Apr 6, in Vienna, to continue previous discussions about a possible return of the United States to the deal and how to ensure the full and effective implementation of the 2015 deal.– NNN-IRNA
