Ned Price: Iran should refrain from actions that undermine the agency's credibility
A US State Department spokesman said Wednesday night that Iran is on the wrong track, but the path to diplomacy remains open. Ned Price stressed that Iran must refrain from any action that would undermine the credibility of the IAEA.
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a press conference on Wednesday night, February 17, that the United States and its allies have called on Iran to return to its commitments and refrain from any action that would undermine the credibility of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The Islamic Republic has announced that it will voluntarily suspend implementation of the Additional Protocol starting next Tuesday (February 23). This means that intrusive inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency of Iranian sites will cease.
Ned Price also said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will discuss Iran with the foreign ministers of Germany, Britain and France on Thursday, February 18. For this purpose, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas will travel to France this Thursday.
The US State Department spokesman stressed that "Iran is on the wrong path but said that the path to diplomacy remains open."
He reiterated US President Joe Biden's statements that Iran should first return to its commitments in the JCPOA, and emphasized that in that case, the United States would also rejoin the agreement.
However, Islamic Republic officials, including Ali Khamenei, have emphasized that only after the US sanctions are lifted in full or in stages will Iran return to its commitments in full or in stages.
Iran has so far resumed 20% uranium enrichment and the production of uranium metal in a step-by-step cancellation of its JCPOA commitments in response to the US withdrawal from the agreement.
Source: DW
