Iran says it might reconsider cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog

Iran says it might reconsider cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog
Ali Akbar Salehi, the vice president of Iran and the head of Iran’s atomic energy organization. (Reuters)
Updated 08 January 2018
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Iran says it might reconsider cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog

Iran says it might reconsider cooperation with UN nuclear watchdog

LONDON: Iran said on Monday it might reconsider its cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog if the United States failed to respect its commitments in the nuclear deal Tehran struck with world powers in 2015.
US president Donald Trump must decide by mid-January whether to continue waiving US sanctions on Iran’s oil exports under the terms of the nuclear pact that eased economic pressure on Tehran in exchange for limits on its nuclear program.
In October, Trump refused to certify that Iran was complying with the deal, also known by its acronym JCPOA, even though the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it was.
“If the United States does not meet its commitment in the JCPOA, the Islamic Republic of Iran would take decisions that might affect its current cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),” Iran’s nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, was quoted as telling IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano in a phone call.
The IAEA is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and is scrutinizing Iran’s compliance with the agreement.
Supporters of the deal insist that strong international monitoring will prevent Iran from developing nuclear bombs. Iran has denied that it is seeking nuclear weapons.