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Iran nuclear deal parties meet amid US pressure
VIENNA, Sept 1, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – The signatories to the faltering Iran
nuclear deal kicked off a meeting in Vienna on Tuesday as the United States
is bidding to restore international sanctions on the Islamic republic and
extend an arms embargo.
Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia are struggling to save the
landmark 2015 accord with Iran, which has been progressively stepping up its
nuclear activities since last year.
Tehran insists it is entitled to do so under the deal — which swapped
sanctions relief for Iran’s agreement to scale back its nuclear programme —
following the US withdrawal from the accord in 2018 and the reimposition of
sanctions.
In a boost to Tuesday’s talks, the Iranian atomic energy last week agreed
to allow inspectors of the UN nuclear watchdog to visit two sites suspected
of having hosted undeclared activity in the early 2000s.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi had travelled
to Iran on his first trip since taking up the top post last year and after
months of calling for access.
Results from any site visits are, however, expected to take three months,
according to a diplomat familiar with the matter, so “it risks being a
problem then with the Iranians” if anything undeclared and nuclear-related is
found.
– US ‘isolated’ –
Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s Ambassador to International Organisations in
Vienna, noted Monday on Twitter that “nuclear deal participants have a lot of
topics to discuss”.
The meeting is chaired by EU senior official Helga Schmid with
representatives from Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran and Russia
attending.
Mark Fitzpatrick, an associate fellow of the International Institute for
Strategic Studies (IISS), said last week’s agreement on access kept “Iran
generally in line with the rest of the world, against an isolated United
States”.
The United Nations last week blocked the US bid to reimpose international
sanctions on Iran, while Washington also failed to rally enough support to
extend an arms embargo set to start to lapse from October.
But Fitzpatrick pointed out that “Iran’s nuclear activities remain of deep
concern to those states that are dedicated to non-proliferation”.
Iran reportedly recently transferred advanced centrifuges used to enrich
uranium from a pilot facility into a new hall at its main Natanz nuclear fuel
plant, which was hit by sabotage in July.
An IAEA assessment published in June said Iran’s stockpile of enriched
uranium was almost eight times the limit fixed in the accord.
The level of enrichment is still far below what would be needed for a
nuclear weapon, but EU parties to the deal have urged Iran’s full compliance.
The IAEA, which regular updates its members on Iran’s nuclear activities,
is expected to issue a fresh report ahead of a meeting of member states to
discuss the dossier later this month.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1720 hrs