Iran threatens to step back from UN nuclear watchdog
(VOVWORLD) -Iran has warned it may “seriously reconsider” its commitments to the UN atomic watchdog if European parties to the current nuclear deal trigger a dispute mechanism that could lead to fresh sanctions.
The threat to trigger sanctions came after the Iranian government took some deliberate steps away from the 2015 nuclear deal, steps Iran says are a reprisal for Europe’s failure to deliver on commitments to boost trade.
The nuclear agreement signed in 2015 between Iran and the UK, France, the US, Russia, China and Germany is formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). It curbs Iran’s nuclear program in return for lifting sanctions. The deal has been in danger of collapsing since May 2018 when the US unilaterally withdrew from the agreement and re-imposed sanctions on Iran. The UK, France, and Germany have tried to save the agreement, perhaps in vain. In May, a year after the US withdrew from the deal, Iran began to adjust its commitments.