TEHRAN — The Permanent Representative of Iran to the International Organizations in Vienna has reminded the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran has only promised to fulfill its obligations under the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA).

Kazem Gharibabadi made the remarks on Friday after the UN nuclear agency issued a statement asking Iran to "immediately respond" to extend the monitoring agreement that expired on June 24. 

The IAEA statement summarizes the report submitted by its director Rafael Grossi to the IAEA Board of Governors. 

"Iran is committed to meet its obligations under the safeguard agreement, no more, no less," Gharibabadi emphasizes

In February Iran suspended a voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which allows snap inspection of the Iranian nuclear sites. The suspension was based on a law passed late last year by the Iranian parliament in response to the unilateral withdrawal of the United States from the 2015 nuclear agreement and a failure by European parties to the deal to fulfill their obligations. 

However, the IAEA and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) reached a temporary bilateral technical understanding in February that the latter will continue to use cameras to record information about its nuclear facilities for three months, but retain the information.

Based on the agreement between the IAEA and AEOI if the U.S. sanctions are completely lifted within three months, Tehran will provide the information to the UN nuclear agency, otherwise they will be deleted forever. 

The monitoring agreement expired in May during the diplomatic effort to reactivate the 2015 nuclear agreement, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in Vienna, Austria. However, Iran and the IAEA agreed to extend the monitoring agreement to June 24, which enabled the Agency to continue the necessary verification and monitoring work in the country. 

“Recording data is a political decision made by Iran to facilitate political negotiations and help it succeed. It should not be considered as an IAEA-related obligation,” Gharibabadi said. 

“As Iran continues to implement its CSA, continuation or suspension of records has nothing to do with Iran’s safeguard obligations. There is no doubt that any decision Iran makes in this regard will be based solely on its political considerations, and the Agency cannot and should not regard it as something to which it is entitled,” he added.
 
The Iranian envoy also criticized Grossi’s report to IAEA board members, saying the IAEA was not required to report expired monitoring agreement and data records. 
"Iran is committed to meet its obligations under the safeguard agreement, no more, no less," he emphasized.

SA/PA