Deputy FM: Iran has consistently, seriously cooperated with IAEA, will continue cooperation

Iranian deputy foreign minister for political affairs says the Islamic Republic, as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has always cooperated with the world body and will continue to do so.

Ali Bagheri Kani made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a Monday ceremony held to mark the third anniversary of the assassination of Iran’s top anti-terrorism commander, Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, and his companions by the US.

“As an effective and responsible member of the Agency and the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and as a country possessing nuclear capabilities, nuclear knowledge, and nuclear technology, the Islamic Republic of Iran has always cooperated seriously and effectively with the Agency and will definitely keep up that cooperation,” he said.

The senior diplomat also reacted to recent claims by Germany and the United States that negotiations on the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), are not important to them anymore.

Bagheri Kani, who is also Iran's top negotiator in the talks, said, “The [JCPOA revival] negotiations constitute a continuous process, which has been ongoing. Its methods may have changed [from time to time], but the process still continues.”

The stalemate on the nuclear deal was triggered in May 2018, when former US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the accord reached between Iran and the world powers, and imposed harsh economic sanctions against the country under the so-called “maximum pressure” policy.

The talks to salvage the JCPOA kicked off in the Austrian capital city of Vienna in April 2021, with the intention of examining Washington’s seriousness in rejoining the deal and removing anti-Iran sanctions.

The negotiations have been at a standstill since August 2022 due to Washington’s insistence on its hard-nosed position of not removing all the sanctions that were slapped on the Islamic Republic by the previous US administration.

Iran maintains it is necessary for the other side to offer some guarantees that they will remain committed to any agreement that is reached.

In meddlesome remarks, Germany's Foreign Ministry spokesman Christofer Burger, whose country is a signatory to the JCPOA, said on Wednesday that Berlin sees no reason to revive the stalled talks on the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

“From our point of view, there are currently no indications or reasons for a resumption of the Iran nuclear negotiations,” Burger told media representatives in Berlin, noting that his country is focusing on support for Iranian protesters.

This is while European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said late in December that there is no alternative to the 2015 nuclear deal.

"I still believe that when it comes to nuclear non-proliferation, there is no alternative to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. Those who think otherwise simply fool themselves,” Borrell said in a blog post.

MG