US Charge That Iran Long Violated JCPOA ‘Illogical

At the time the nuclear deal was concluded, Tehran and the IAEA agreed on a “roadmap” through which Iran is addressing the nuclear watchdog’s unanswered questions about the nuclear weapons research program that the IAEA and the US intelligence community assessed ended in 2003, Daryl Kimball said, according to Reuters.

“The process is still underway,” he said.

He also said there was no international standard prohibiting Iran from enriching uranium, as asserted by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

“That is not the case. That is an American position,” he said.

It was the United States, he said, that first violated the deal when Trump withdrew from it while Iran still was in compliance and then re-imposed harsh US sanctions that had been suspended by the nuclear agreement.

The White House charge was “illogical”, the head of the association noted.

Iran’s breach, Kimball said, does not affect the JCPOA’s central target of extending to a year the time in which Iran could “breakout” and produce enough highly enriched uranium for a warhead.

The breach is a political move aimed at pressuring the European Union, China and Russia to compensate Iran for the serious damage to its economy from US sanctions, he said.

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif announced that the country’s enriched uranium stockpile has passed the 300-kilogram limit.

Zarif rejected the White House accusation on Tuesday, tweeting, “Seriously?”

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham had said, “There is little doubt that even before the deal’s existence, Iran was violating its terms.”

On May 8, Iran notified its remaining partners in the deal that it would suspend the implementation of some of its commitments as a means of prompting the European side to honor its end of the bargain.

The warning shot saw the country stopping exports of its excess uranium and heavy water for a two-month-long period.

The measure was likewise taken in line with the Islamic Republic’s legal rights under paragraphs 26 and 36 of the nuclear deal, which is officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The country also cautioned that it would resume refining uranium to a higher fissile degree in 60 days if Europe continued to fail Tehran.

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