Iran Warns It May Reconsider Cooperation with IAEA

Speaking in a telephone conversation with IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano on Monday, Ali Akbar Salehi warned about the consequences of Washington’s possible withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

“If the US does not fulfil its commitments under the nuclear deal, the Islamic Republic of Iran will make decisions that can influence the current trend of Tehran’s cooperation with the IAEA,” said Salehi, the head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI).

Salehi’s remarks came as US President Donald Trump must decide by January 12 whether he will re-certify the Iran deal, known as the JCPOA, reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries, including the United States.

Re-certification indicates that Iran is complying with the terms of the nuclear accord.

Trump faces a series of deadlines in the coming days about what to do with the Iran deal, which he has called an “embarrassment” to the US and “the worst deal ever negotiated.”

Trump has not made a decision about whether he will certify the pact next week and continue to waive sanctions against Iran.

Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against the Islamic Republic.

In October, Trump refused to certify Iran’s compliance, and warned he might ultimately terminate the deal in defiance of other world powers. In doing so, the president passed the buck to Congress, which was given 60 days then to decide how to proceed with the deal.

Congress allowed a deadline on re-imposing sanctions on Tehran to pass last month, leaving the deal intact and effectively punting the issue back to Trump again.