Iran Says No Interim Deal, US ‘Maximum Pressure’ Must Go

In a statement presented on the second day of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board meeting, the US expressed deep disappointment that an eleventh-hour trip by Director General Rafael Grossi to Tehran, the Iranian government failed to resolve outstanding issues.

An extraordinary board meeting can result in censuring Iran; a step that can be a prelude to taking the case to the United Nations Security Council for more serious action against the Islamic Republic.

Iran has reduced it cooperation in allowing the IAEA to monitor its nuclear facilities since February, prompting the international watchdog to warn that it can no longer be certain what exactly transpires in these sensitive installations. Iran’s decision was part of its efforts to reduce commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA.

In September Iran allowed the IAEA to do maintenance work on its cameras, but later did not allow the replacement of damaged cameras at its Karaj manufacturing site where it produces uranium enrichment equipment.

“If Iran’s non-cooperation is not immediately remedied, including on the issues raised under the JCPOA agenda, especially the restoration of continuity of knowledge at Karaj, the Board will have no choice but to reconvene in extraordinary session before the end of this year in order to address the crisis,” the statement read by US Chargé d’Affaires Louis L. Bono said.

Multilateral nuclear talks with Iran to revive the JCPOA will resume on Monday and a negative IAEA board meeting can have an impact on these negotiations. The overall mood surrounding the talks is not very positive, as Iran has brought tougher demands to the table, asking US sanctions to be lifted before any new deal is reached.

Meanwhile, the spokesman of Iran's nuclear energy organizations, Behruz Kamalvandi, said Thursday that the Karaj facility does not fall under monitoring agreements with the IAEA. He also tried to soften the impact of Grossi's failed trip to Tehran by claiming that time was too short to reach an agreement.

Iran has also boosted uranium enrichment as it has reduced cooperation with the IAEA. Tehran is now producing 20-percent and 60-percent uranium, raising alarm that it could be months away from producing a nuclear weapon.

The United Kingdom, France and Germany in a joint statement on Wednesday warned that Iran has been escalating its nuclear program “systematically” for two years, “permanently and irreversibly upgrading its nuclear capabilities”.

The US also raised the issue of conditions under which IAEA inspectors work in Iran. Grossi in his reports has said that his staff undergo invasive searches during their work. The uS said it was “seriously alarmed” that “Agency inspectors continue to experience excessively invasive physical searches at the hands of Iranian security personnel, and that such treatment threatens to prevent Agency inspectors from effectively discharging their functions.”

Ali Bagheri-Kani who is also Iran’s deputy foreign minister, also said that the Biden Administration should provide a guarantee that Washington will not once again withdraw from an agreement.

Speaking to The Independent days before nuclear talks resume in Vienna, he insisted that former US president Donald Trump’s policy of maximum pressure on Iran had failed, and the Biden Administration should not repeat the same mistake.

Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018 saying the agreement cannot stop Iran from producing nuclear weapons and began imposing sanctions that became known as a ‘maximum pressure’ policy.

Although Tehran claims to have defeated US sanctions, its economy is in a crisis with nearly 50-percent inflation, a 50-percent budget deficit and a falling currency.

World powers say that earlier this year, six rounds of talks in Vienna made a lot of progress, but Iran’s new government formed in August is dominated by hardliners who have put forth new conditions for restoring the JCPOA.

“Our president said they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon. The diplomats are in the lead on this, but Central Command always has a variety of plans that we could execute, if directed,” McKenzie said.

After Iran suspended nuclear talks in Vienna in June and kept postponing the resumption of talks, the Biden Administration started issuing warnings in recent weeks that “other options” are available to deal with a fast-advancing Iranian nuclear program. Iran finally agreed to resume talks on November 29, but it has toughened its position.

General McKenzie also said that Iran is very close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, adding, “I think they like the idea of being able to breakout.”

Tehran is demanding the removal of all US sanctions imposed since 2018, all at once, and verification of the result. It is also demanding that the Biden Administration provide guarantees that no future US government would withdraw from an agreement.

Former President Donald Trump abandoned the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, in 2018, saying it was inadequate in preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Mohammad Reza Ghaebi, Tehran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) spoke at the ongoing meeting of the agency’s Board of Governors saying that the United Kingdom, France and Germany (E3) have failed to stand up to US maximum pressure sanctions and instead criticize his government.

Ghaebi defended Iran’s decision to reduce IAEA inspections of its nuclear facilities and Tehran’s accelerated uranium enrichment process, insisting that purifying fissile material to 60 percent is within Iran’s rights under international conventions.

The E3 in their statement had warned that the higher-degree enrichment has no civilian purpose and demanded that Iran immediately return to its obligations under the Joint Plan of Action, or JCPOA, which allows only 3.65 percent enriched uranium.

Ghaebi reiterated Iran’s position that the only reason for the current crisis is the actions of the United States by withdrawing from the JCPOA and imposing sanctions. He also repeated Tehran’s demand that sanctions should be “verifiably” removed before there can be a new deal. He said as along as US sanctions remain in place no one should expect continence by Iran.

The E3, as the three counties are known within the framework of the Iran nuclear talks, said that Iran has been escalating its nuclear program “systematically” for two years, “permanently and irreversibly upgrading its nuclear capabilities”.

The United States also issued a statement in Vienna, voicing strong support for the efforts of the International Atomic Energy Agency monitoring efforts. US officials also reiterated that they are ready to reach an agreement with Iran to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of action, or JCPOA.

The E3 were mainly referring to Iran’s uranium enrichment which has increased both in quantity and quality since 2019 as a reaction to the US withdrawal from JCPOA. But the enrichment took another leap this year when Tehran said it is enriching to 60 percent, getting close to the 90-percent uranium purity needed for a nuclear bomb.

Warning of the inherent risk to the international community, the E3 declared, “Iran has no plausible civilian justification for both 20% and 60% enrichment and the production of High Enriched Uranium (HEU) is unprecedented for a State without a weapons program.”

They went on to say that Iran has already stockpiled enough fissile material to produce more than one nuclear bomb and continues to make advances that reduce its breakout time. Significantly, the E3 warned that these escalations and advances “are irreversibly reducing the counter-proliferation value of the JCPOA.”

The E3 also expressed deep concern over Iran’s decision to reduce cooperation with the IAEA since early this year, curtailing its monitoring activities and stonewalling on providing answers to the nuclear watchdog’s questions about its past activities.

The European powers pointed out that IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi visited Tehran twice since September, but Iran failed to resolve these issues. “It is essential that Iran returns to full implementation of JCPOA-related IAEA monitoring arrangements,” the statement said.

While the statement is a stern warning to Iran, it is not clear if the E3 and the United States would table a proposal at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting to censure Iran.