European powers say ‘limit on flexibility’ for nuclear deal reached
Paris, Sep 10 (EFE).- France, Germany and the United Kingdom on Saturday warned Iran that the three nations had reached the “limit” of their “flexibility” following drawn-out negotiations with Tehran to reinstate the 2015 nuclear deal.
The European Union has been mediating a fresh Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) between Iran and Western powers, including the United States, in a bid to restore the 2015 nuclear pact that crumbled in 2018 when then-US president Donald Trump abandoned the agreement and slapped stiff sanctions on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
“In early August, after a year and a half of negotiations, the JCPoA Coordinator submitted a final set of texts which would allow for an Iranian return to compliance with its JCPoA commitments and a US return to the deal,” the three European nations said in a statement published Saturday.
The statement added that the draft text submitted last month had pushed western powers to the “limit of our flexibility.”
“Unfortunately, Iran has chosen not to seize this critical diplomatic opportunity. Instead, Iran continues to escalate its nuclear program way beyond any plausible civilian justification,” the statement added.
The penning of the agreement has stalled after Iran on Thursday said that the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) probe into undeclared nuclear sites must end as a condition for entering the nuclear deal.
In June, the IAEA board adopted a resolution calling on Iran to cooperate with an investigation into the undeclared nuclear sites.
The UN-backed agency and Iran agreed to a three-month timeline to resolve the investigation, but, according to the IAEA, Tehran has yet to provide suitable explanations for the agency’s findings.
“Our position remains clear and steadfast. Iran must fully and, without delay, cooperate in good faith with the IAEA,” the statement issued by France, Germany and the UK read.
“It is up to Iran to provide technically credible answers to the IAEA’s questions on the whereabouts of all nuclear material on its territory.”
“Given Iran’s failure to conclude the deal on the table we will consult, alongside international partners, on how best to address Iran’s continued nuclear escalation and lack of cooperation with the IAEA regarding its NPT safeguards agreement,” the statement concluded.
The JCPoA stipulates that Iran is only allowed to produce up to 300 kilograms of enriched uranium in a gaseous form.
A report by the IAEA published this week confirmed that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium had increased by 131.6 kilograms between May and August, to reach a total of 3,940.9 kilograms, which is well above the limits set up by the 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran, which has not fulfilled its obligations under the agreement since 2019, justified the production of uranium enriched up to 60% for medical purposes.EFE
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