Iran, IAEA strike deal on nuclear inspectors' access to sites, JCPOA group reject US calls for sanctions 'snap back'

Reuters
Wed, 26 Aug 2020 12:00 UTC

© Reuters / Majid Asgaripour

FILE PHOTO: Iranian workers stand in front of Bushehr nuclear power plant, 1,200 km south of Tehran, 2012

The U.N. nuclear watchdog and Iran said on Wednesday they have reached an agreement on granting the International Atomic Energy Agency's inspectors access to two suspected former secret nuclear sites after a months-long standoff.

"Iran is voluntarily providing the IAEA with access to the two locations specified by the IAEA," IAEA chief Rafael Grossi and Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi said in a joint statement. "Dates for the IAEA access and the verification activities have been agreed."

Comment: RT has more details:

"Iran, like before, is ready to cooperate with the IAEA," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on state television after the announcement.

While the IAEA hailed the agreement as a "good faith" gesture from the Islamic Republic, the US remains cynical. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last week accused Iran of violating the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, or Iran Deal) - a 2015 accord between Iran and world powers that guaranteed the country some sanctions relief in exchange for a halt to its nuclear program.

Accusing Iran of "significant non-compliance" with the deal, Pompeo requested that the UN Security Council "snap back" sanctions on Tehran. Iran and the US' allies alike have questioned the legality of Pompeo's request, given that the US abandoned the nuclear deal in 2018.

China, France, Germany, the UK and Russia - who are all signatories to the deal - have said that they do not recognize the US move. On Tuesday, the current UNSC president dismissed the US call on reintroducing sanctions given the lack of consensus for it.

See also: Israel, not Iran, has an illegal nuclear arms program - here are the details