Blinken: The path taken by Tehran will further isolate Iran economically and politically

Less than 24 hours after the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors passed a critical resolution against Iran, the US Secretary of State reiterated that Iran must cooperate with the agency and provide credible and reliable technical information in response to the agency's remaining questions.

On Thursday, June 9, Antony Blinken stated in a statement that negotiations to revive the nuclear deal with Iran will only be concluded if Tehran abandons its demands beyond the deal.

The US Secretary of State is probably referring to the Islamic Republic's request to remove the Revolutionary Guard Corps from the US list of terrorist organizations and to provide assurances that Washington will not withdraw from this agreement in the future.

In his statement, he also emphasized that Iran's actions threaten the possibility of reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Mr. Blinken warned that the only outcome of the path the Islamic Republic has taken will be "a deepening of the nuclear crisis and further economic and political isolation of Iran."

The US Secretary of State's remarks come as Iran on Thursday began removing 27 IAEA surveillance cameras in Tehran, Natanz, and other nuclear facilities in retaliation for the resolution passed by the Board of Governors.

On the evening of June 8, the IAEA Board of Governors passed a resolution against Iran by a majority vote, criticizing Tehran's lack of cooperation with the organization.

Mr. Blinken's statement said: "Yesterday, we joined the overwhelming majority of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors in expressing our support for the agency's special mission to conduct safeguards activities aimed at preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons."

The US Secretary of State emphasized: "Iran must cooperate with the Agency and provide credible technical information in response to the Agency's questions."

According to Mr. Blenniken, resolving the safeguards issues on the agenda of the Board of Governors will only be possible in this way.

The statement added that the recent resolution is primarily related to the Agency's mission and Iran's fundamental obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and has nothing to do with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The Islamic Republic of Iran committed in March last year to provide transparent answers to the IAEA’s questions about the origin of uranium at its three undeclared sites within a three-month period. However, the IAEA’s new report shows that Iran has not fulfilled its commitment, and negotiations to revive the JCPOA have been stalled ever since.

Mr. Blinken, meanwhile, noted that the United States remains committed to a bilateral return to full implementation of the JCPOA.

"We are ready to finalize the agreement (with Iran) based on the understandings reached with our European allies after months of negotiations in Vienna," he said.

The US Secretary of State noted that such an agreement had been ready since last March (late Esfand 1400), but Washington can only conclude the negotiations and implement the agreement if Iran abandons its double demands that go beyond the framework of the JCPOA.

He also referred to the Islamic Republic's initial reaction after the resolution was passed, saying that unfortunately, instead of addressing the issue of "lack of cooperation and transparency" that led to the Agency's Director General's negative report and caused deep concern among the council members, Iran has resorted to provocative nuclear actions and reduced transparency.

On June 8, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran announced in a statement that two International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) "supervision" cameras at an Iranian nuclear facility were deliberately disconnected.

According to the US State Department statement, "Such steps (by Iran) would be counterproductive and would further complicate efforts to return to full implementation of the JCPOA."

Mr. Blinken concluded by emphasizing: "We continue to pressure Iran to choose diplomacy and de-escalation instead of these actions."

In a press conference on Thursday, the IAEA Director General called Iran's recent move a "fatal blow" to the process of revitalizing the JCPOA.

On June 6, ahead of the meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors, Rafael Grossi warned that Iran would continue to enrich uranium and that its acquisition of significant resources that would cross the red line was "very close, not more than a few weeks away."

In response to Radio Farda's question about this period of several weeks, he referred to "three to four weeks" and emphasized that beyond this time, the Agency will no longer be able to monitor Iran's activities.

Senior nuclear and human rights officials in the Islamic Republic have accused IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi of "politicizing" the agency.

Source: Radio Farda