Iran said on Monday it will block snap inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog from next week if other parties to the 2015 nuclear deal do not fulfil their obligations, a challenge to US President Joe Biden’s hope of reviving the accord.
“If others do not fulfil their obligations by Feb. 21, the government is obliged to suspend the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said.
“It does not mean ending all inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog…All these steps are reversible if the other party changes its path and honors its obligations,” he said, alluding to the United States.
The Biden administration aims to return the United States to the nuclear deal, which his predecessor Donald Trump abandoned in 2018. Under the deal, Iran agreed to curbs on its uranium enrichment program in return for the lifting of sanctions.
After Trump quit and reimposed sanctions, Iran began violating some limits in the deal. Washington and Tehran now disagree over how best to restore the accord, with both sides demanding the other side act first to return to compliance.
Read the complete article at: Arab News