Iran continued abiding by nuclear limits in its landmark accord with world powers even after U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the agreement, according to international monitors.
In its first report since the U.S. re-imposed oil and banking sanctions on Nov. 5, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran is still allowing intrusive inspections while keeping its nuclear capacity and material below thresholds allowed under the July 2015 deal, according to a 5-page restricted report published Monday and seen by Bloomberg News.
The IAEA conducted snap inspections “to all sites and locations in Iran which it needed to visit,” according to the quarterly report. “The agency continues to verify the non-diversion of declared nuclear material. Evaluations regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities for Iran remained ongoing.”
Iran Abides Nuclear Limits
Enriched uranium has remained below thresholds agreed under deal
While the U.S. decision to drop out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action between Tehran and world powers has started to bite Iran’s economy, the other nations that joined the accord — France, Germany, the U.K., Russia and China — all have vowed to stand by it.
Countries including China, India and South Korea won waivers from the U.S. to continue importing Iranian oil, although the State Department maintains they must continue reducing volumes. The European Union is trying to develop a “special purpose vehicle” to keep financial transactions flowing. A reactor upgrade promised under the nuclear deal is also continuing with U.S. acquiescence.
“The U.S. has left just enough breathing room to continue implementing the JCPOA from a technical level,” Ellie Geranmayeh, a senior fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, said by phone on Monday. “What we will see for at least the next couple months is continued compliance as Iran assess the new cost-benefit analysis of staying in the deal.”
Source: Jonathan Tirone | Bloomberg
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