dpa/NAN
UN nuclear chief Yukiya Amano on Monday said Iran should not be seen dragging its feet on nuclear inspections, in his first speech to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board.
Meanwhile the U.S. left the 2015 nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision in early May, the IAEA has kept monitoring Tehran’s implementation of the deal.
It has been given access to facilities under the strict set of inspection rules known as the Additional Protocol.
The IAEA director general added however, that timely and proactive cooperation by Iran in providing such access would facilitate implementation of the Additional Protocol and enhance confidence.
Amano did not indicate whether Tehran has recently been acting less cooperatively than in past months.
The 2015 pact that was negotiated with the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China has significantly scaled down Tehran’s nuclear programme and placed it under close IAEA monitoring, to prevent the country from developing nuclear weapons.
He said that sanctions would be reinstated against Iran, when Trump withdrew the U.S. from the pact.
He argued that the deal is too weak to stop the country from getting atomic warheads, and that it did not check Iran’s regional ambitions and missile programme.
The remaining five major powers, especially the European ones, are trying to salvage the deal by shielding companies with Iranian business ties from the revived U.S. sanctions.
Tehran is still mulling whether it will keep upholding the agreement.