According to IRNA reporter, Matthew Miller, US State Department spokesman, in his press conference on Tuesday local time, rejected a Wall Street Journal's report that the administration of President Joe Biden is “pressing European allies to back off plans to censure Iran for advances in its nuclear program”.
"This report is not correct. We have not lobbied any country to vote against or abstain from any resolution in that regard. We are actively increasing pressure on Iran through a combination of sanctions, deterrence, and international isolation to counter their destabilizing behavior and prevent them from obtaining a nuclear weapon," Miller said in response to a question whether the US is trying to prevent anti-Iran statement by the UK and France at the International Atomic Energy Agency.
At the same time, the American media quoted an unnamed State Department spokesperson as saying that Washington is concerned about the increase in Iran's uranium reserves but is grateful to the IAEA’s extensive efforts "to interact with Iran regarding Its safeguard obligations.”
During his recent visit to Tehran, IAEA Chief Rafael Grossi and Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami reached on a consensus to continue with March 2023 statement issued by the two sides. According to the agreement, Iran's cooperation with the IAEA is within the framework of the Convention on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and safeguards.
Iran has repeatedly said that it is not seeking nuclear weapons, stressing its nuclear technology is solely for civilian purposes. The IAEA, in its numerous reports, have verified that there is no proof Iran has been seeking nukes, acknowledging that even the regional tensions have not disrupted the agency’s monitoring of Iran's nuclear sites.
Iran scaled back its commitments under a 2015 nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in several phases after the United States unilaterally withdrew from the accord and re-imposed its sanctions on Iran.
In May 2019, a year after the US withdrawal, Iran started to take “remedial measures” by reducing its commitments under the deal after the European troika failed to fulfill theirs. Tehran has repeatedly said its moves, including uranium enrichment to the purity level of 60%, are reversible depending on the actions by other parties to the agreement.
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