Agency Says Iran Continues to Violate Its JCPOA Commitments
The International Atomic Energy Agency announced on Wednesday, November 12, that Iran continues to violate its commitments under the 2015 nuclear agreement by installing advanced centrifuges at the Natanz facility, enriching uranium beyond the allowed percentage, and maintaining enriched uranium reserves exceeding the limits stipulated in the JCPOA.
According to the Associated Press news agency, the UN nuclear watchdog in its latest quarterly report submitted to the Board of Governors stated that Iran’s reserves of low-enriched uranium have reached more than 2,442 kilograms.
The report also stated that the Islamic Republic has begun installing the first cascade of advanced IR-2m centrifuges at the underground uranium enrichment facility in Natanz, but has not yet injected uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas into them.
The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency stated in his report that Iran continues to enrich uranium to a maximum purity of 4.5 percent. According to the Vienna agreement, Iran is permitted to enrich uranium to a maximum purity of 3.67 percent.
He also stated that Iran’s government’s explanations regarding an undeclared suspicious nuclear site are not credible. The Islamic Republic had pledged during IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi’s visit to Tehran last summer to cooperate with the agency’s inspectors on this matter.
Under the JCPOA, Iran committed to using first-generation centrifuges in Natanz and keeping its enriched uranium reserves below 300 kilograms.
Following a suspicious fire at the Natanz nuclear facility in June of this year, the U.S. State Department stated: “This incident is another reminder of how the Iranian regime continues to prioritize its rogue nuclear program instead of addressing the needs of the Iranian people.”
Source: Human Rights
