Iran demanded that the UN nuclear watchdog “completely” resolve
outstanding issues related to questions over nuclear material at
undeclared sites, amid resumed talks to revive its 2015 nuclear
deal, Trend
reports citing Al Arabiya.
Talks aimed at reviving the agreement over Iran’s nuclear
program resumed this week in Vienna, months after they had
stalled.
Iranian sources have suggested that one of the key sticking
points is a probe by the International Atomic Energy Agency on
traces of nuclear material found at undeclared Iranian sites.
“We believe that the agency should completely resolve the
remaining safeguard issues from a technical route by distancing
itself from irrelevant and unconstructive political issues,” Iran’s
foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said.
During a phone call with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres,
Amir-Abdollahian reiterated that his country is “serious about
reaching a strong and lasting agreement”, Iran’s foreign ministry
said.
“The outcome of this matter depends on whether the US wants to
make an agreement,” he added.
The IAEA’s board of governors adopted a resolution in June,
censuring Iran for failing to adequately explain the previous
discovery of traces of enriched uranium at three previously
undeclared sites.
But Tehran argued on Friday that the issues surrounding the
undeclared sites “are political in nature and should not be used as
a pretext for abuse against Iran in the future”.
“Nuclear weapons have no place in the doctrine of the Islamic
republic of Iran and are contrary to our policies and beliefs,”
Amir-Abdollahian reiterated on Sunday.
The negotiations to revive the deal, known formally as the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action, began in April 2021 before coming to
a standstill in March.
The 2015 deal gave Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs
on its nuclear program to guarantee that Tehran could not develop a
nuclear weapon — something it has always denied wanting to do.
But the US unilateral withdrawal from the accord in 2018 and the
reimposition of biting economic sanctions prompted Iran to begin
rolling back on its own commitments.
Russia’s envoy to Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov however said Sunday
that talks are moving “in the right direction”.
A successful conclusion can be reached “very soon, but no
guarantees — as always nothing is agreed until everything is
agreed”, he told reporters outside the Palais Coburg hotel where
the talks are being held.
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