Iran dismisses IAEA Report

[GS Paper 2 – International Affairs]

Context – Recently Iran dismissed IAEA Criticism and demanded full benefits from a Nuclear Deal.

Iran dismissed as an “unfair and unbalanced”,  a report by the UN nuclear watchdog accusing Tehran of lack of cooperation over its past atomic activities.

Key Highlights of the Report

• Iran has insisted that the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) report does not reflect the reality of discussions between Iran and the Agency.

• The IAEA report expressed dissatisfaction with Iran’s answers to questions over its past atomic activities. Iran agreed on March 5 to provide written explanations by March 20 of long-standing issues in its nuclear work before 2003 and to clear up remaining queries by June 21.

• But the new quarterly report by IAEA expresses dissatisfaction with Iran’s response to agency queries over four sites not declared as part of the nuclear program where inspectors detected traces of uranium.

• Iran has not provided technically credible explanations about the Agency’s findings at those locations, the report said. The authority also was defiant on the issue of stalled nuclear talks with the United States, repeating Tehran’s position that Washington should make decisions to reinvigorate the negotiations in Vienna.

Diplomatic Challenges

• The diplomatic process was said to be close to fruition in early March when diplomats suddenly stopped the talks and returned to their capitals.

• One issue that has since been repeatedly mentioned as a major stumbling block is Iran’s insistence that its Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) should be removed from the US list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO).

• Issues that are being negotiated between Iran and America are related to Iran’s potential economic benefits and lifting of all components of US maximum pressure.

• Tehran has been lately downplaying the IRGC issue in the talks, perhaps partly because of its domestic ramifications amid increasing economic hardships for the average citizen.

• Iranians know that if there is a nuclear deal, economic sanctions would be lifted, and their living conditions would be improved somewhat. The authorities do not want the IRGC to be seen as the stumbling block to an agreement.

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