White House says critics of Iran deal proved wrong

May 10, 2016 - 16:11

The United States has said the critics of the Iran nuclear agreement were wrong as the UN nuclear watchdog has confirmed that Tehran has fully complied with the terms of the agreement officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“Our critics often suggested that there would never be a way to verify Iran’s claims that they had gone along with the agreement. They were wrong about that, too,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said on Monday.

On July 14, 2015, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action announced a comprehensive nuclear agreement between Iran and the 5+1 countries (the U.S., Britain, Russia, France, China and Germany) and the EU.

Immediately after the inching of the nuclear deal Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a “historic mistake”.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has also said the nuclear agreement with Iran is “disastrous”. Trump claimed President Barack Obama “negotiated a disastrous deal with Iran and then we watched them ignore its terms even before the ink was dry.”

Earnest said, “The international inspectors at the IAEA have gotten the access that they have needed to verify Iran’s compliance with the agreement.”

Iran has taken “significant steps” to limit its nuclear program under which it has eliminated 98 percent of its highly enriched uranium stockpile and disconnected thousands of centrifuges, he added.

“We have verified that Iran has taken significant steps to actually roll back their nuclear program,” Earnest said, Business Standard reported.

“The worst-case, dire predictions of the deal’s critics did not at all come to pass. What did come to pass is exactly what this administration indicated our objectives were, which were to curtail Iran’s nuclear program, guarantee access for international inspectors who could verify that Iran’s nuclear program only exist for peaceful purposes.”

He added, “Iran has essentially rendered harmless its heavy-water plutonium reactor. And Iran has complied with its commitment to give international inspectors widespread access to the country to verify its compliance with the agreement.”

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