U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken Thursday called on Iran to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and to provide the information and the transparency necessary for the agency to carry out its mission of safeguarding nuclear material.
Iran decided Wednesday to switch off two cameras used by the IAEA to monitor Iran’s nuclear program as tensions over the nation’s nuclear program escalate.
Iran’s action came after an IAEA resolution was adopted Wednesday that called on Iran to “to act on an urgent basis to fulfill its legal obligations and, without delay, take up the Director General’s offer of further engagement to clarify and resolve all outstanding safeguards issues.”
Sec. Blinken said in a statement Thursday that Iran must cooperate with the IAEA. Blinken said instead of cooperating, Iran is threatening “further nuclear provocations and further reductions of transparency.”
“The only outcome of such a path will be a deepening nuclear crisis and further economic and political isolation for Iran. We continue to press Iran to choose diplomacy and de-escalation instead,” Blinken said in a statement.
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According to the IAEA, Iran is just weeks away from producing enough enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon.
In its resolution, the IAEA said it’s ready to engage with Iran without delay to resolve the outstanding issues.
Sec. Blinken’s statement said the United States remains committed to a mutual return to full implementation to the JCPOA, a 2015 multi-nation nuclear deal with Iran that the United States withdrew from under the Trump administration.
“But we can only conclude negotiations and implement it if Iran drops its additional demands that are extraneous to the JCPOA,” Blinken said.
Blinken said Iran has a core obligation under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to cooperate with the IAEA’s requests.
