IAEA unable to access Iran data since February
The United Nations’ atomic watchdog hasn’t been able to access data important to monitoring Iran’s nuclear program since late February when the Islamic Republic started restricting international inspections of its facilities, the agency has said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported on Monday in a confidential document distributed to member countries and seen by the Associated Press that it has “not had access to the data from its online enrichment monitors and electronic seals, or had access to the measurement recordings registered by its installed measurement devices” since 23 February.
Meanwhile Iran’s permanent representative to Vienna-based international organizations says a recent report by the UN nuclear agency serves to verify the Islamic Republic’s implementation of a strategic parliamentary law that has widened the scope of the country’s nuclear countermeasures.
Kazem Gharibabadi made the remarks in the Austrian city on Monday, addressing reporters about the quarterly report that the International Atomic Energy Organization (IAEA) released earlier in the day.
The report outlined how Iran had reduced its nuclear commitments in several key areas, including the extent of its enriched uranium stockpile. According to the report, the Islamic Republic has increased its stockpile of the material to around 16 times the limit that has been specified in the country’s 2015 nuclear agreement with world countries.
The measure fits within the December 2020 law passed by Majlis (Iranian parliament) that tasked the administration with suspending more commitments under the nuclear deal.
The law that is officially known as the Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions, was adopted in order to further Iran’s counter-steps in the face of the United States’ and its European allies — the UK, France, and Germany’s — non-commitment to the nuclear deal.
The IAEA report also outlined the other areas, where Iran had reduced its cooperation with the body in line with Majlis’ legislation, including suspending the country’s implementation of the Additional Protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The protocol allows the IAEA inspectors to carry out closer inspections of Iran’s nuclear energy program.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s latest report, published in the international media on Monday night, states that the Agency has not had access to data collected by its surveillance equipment in Iran since 23 February 2021.
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