TEHRAN — Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s ambassador to the Vienna-based international organizations, says the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s most recent report proves continuation of the agency’s verification activities in Iran.

In comments on Friday night, Gharibabadi said the report also shows a suspension of Tehran’s commitment to the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

On technical nuclear issues, the IAEA report says Iran’s stockpile of heavy water has surpassed the limit of 130 tons and reached 132.6 tons, he remarked, according to Tasnim.

The report also shows that Iran has installed new centrifuge machines, such as IR-4, IR-5, IR-6, IR-S, IR-S6, and IR-2M, for research and development purposes, the Iranian ambassador to the IAEA said.

According to Gharibabadi, the report also confirms that Iran is enriching uranium up to the purity level of 4.5 percent – above the limit specified in the JCPOA - and that the Islamic Republic has produced 1,571.6 kilograms of enriched uranium, some 550 kg more than the figures in the March report, including 1,356.5 kg of uranium with 4.5 percent purity.

On the verification activities, the new report has pointed to the continuation of monitoring and verification activities under the special conditions after the outbreak of the coronavirus and Iran’s proper cooperation with the IAEA, the ambassador added.  

The report also maintains that Iran is carrying out the Additional Protocol temporarily and voluntarily and also verifies the non-diversion of declared nuclear material in Iran, he added.

On May 8, 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump officially announced the unilateral and illegal withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA and re-imposed all sanctions lifted in connection with the deal and ordered new ones.

On May 8, 2019, exactly one year after the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, Tehran began to gradually reduce its commitments under the pact to both retaliate for Washington’s departure and Europeans’ failure to honor their commitments.

On January 5 of this year, Iran took a fifth and last step in reducing its commitments and said it would no longer observe any operational limitations on its nuclear industry, whether concerning the capacity and level of uranium enrichment, the volume of stockpiled uranium or research and development. However, Iran has insisted if the Europeans honor their obligations it will immediately reverse its decisions.

MH/PA