UN atomic chief says Iran implementing nuclear-related commitments
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a press release that its Director General Yukiya Amano met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Vice-President and President of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi, and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, during a visit to the capital of Tehran.
Since January 2016, the IAEA has been verifying and monitoring Iran's implementation of its nuclear-related commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was endorsed unanimously by the UN Security Council in 2015.
The accord between five UN permanent members, plus Germany, the European Union (EU) and Iran, set out rigorous mechanisms for monitoring limits on Iran's nuclear program while paving the way for lifting UN sanctions against the country.
The release said that the IAEA's verification and monitoring activities are conducted in an impartial and objective manner and in accordance with the modalities defined by the JCPOA and standard safeguards practice.
Amano reiterated that the JCPOA represents a clear gain from a verification point of view, and stressed the importance of full implementation by Iran of its nuclear-related commitments in order to make the JCPOA sustainable.
Iranian President Rouhani on Sunday urged the United Nations nuclear chief to confirm his country still adheres to the nuclear deal with world powers after U.S. President Donald Trump refused to re-certify the accord.
Amano's visit comes as the U.S. Congress weighs the deal. Trump's refusal this month to re-certify the agreement has sparked a new war of words between Iran and the United States.