Iran began on Tuesday to restrict inspections of its nuclear program by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for lack of having obtained the lifting of American sanctions, a decision deemed
"dangerous"
by European signatories who are trying to save the 2015 agreement.
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France, Great Britain and Germany called, in a joint statement, Tehran
"to go back on all measures that reduce transparency and to cooperate fully with the IAEA"
.
"The objective remains to preserve the agreement and to support the diplomatic efforts underway for a negotiated solution, which will allow Iran and the United States to return to full respect for their commitments,"
they insisted.
It is also our goal, underlined the spokesman of the American Department of State, Ned Price, saying his
"concern"
vis-a-vis an Iranian power
"which goes in the wrong direction"
.
In response to the American withdrawal from the 2015 agreement, the Islamic Republic has gradually freed itself since 2019 from numerous limitations that it had agreed to impose on its nuclear program in exchange for a reduction in retaliation against it.
"Temporary" agreement
In December, the Iranian Parliament went further by ordering a series of measures to be implemented if the sanctions reinstated in 2018 by the former administration of Donald Trump are maintained.
In the process, Iran announced that it had resumed enrichment to the tune of 20%, in what was the most spectacular of its withdrawals.
Then, he said he was starting the production of uranium metal to fuel its research reactor in Tehran, a material that can be used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons.
The latest step in this escalation, the limitation of certain IAEA inspections on non-nuclear installations, including suspect military sites, came into effect on Tuesday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, quoted by the official Irna news agency, nevertheless stressed that Tehran's cooperation with the UN nuclear gendarme would continue.
After a visit to Tehran, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi announced on Sunday a
"temporary"
technical agreement
to maintain surveillance, although reduced, while the countries party to the international agreement initiate talks.
"The tapes recorded on our nuclear program (...) will be kept and will not be provided to the Agency"
, detailed Mohammad Javad Zarif.
According to the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization (OIEA), these data will be
"deleted forever"
if the sanctions are not
"completely lifted within three months"
.
"Get all the information"
On the other hand, if the great powers manage to come to an agreement,
"we will be able to recover all the information"
relating to this period, specified Rafael Grossi, during an online seminar organized by the American think tank Nuclear Threat. Initiative (NTI).
"In other words, we will know exactly what happened, how many components were made, how many materials were made, processed or enriched and so on
.
"
"Of course, this is far from an ideal situation (...) but it offers time for the indispensable diplomatic efforts to be deployed in the coming days"
, commented the IAEA official.
Regarding the declared nuclear sites, the impact of the limitations will be
"negligible"
, estimated a diplomatic source based in Vienna.
Concluded in Vienna between Iran and the 5 + 1 group (France, United States, Great Britain, Russia, China, Germany), the pact initially aimed to regulate the nuclear program of the Islamic Republic.
Despite its denials, Iran is accused of seeking to acquire atomic weapons, in particular by Israel, its sworn enemy.
US President Joe Biden has pledged to rejoin this agreement, but on condition that Tehran first reverts to respecting the commitments made.
In this tense context, the IAEA declared itself
"deeply concerned"
by the possible presence of nuclear material on an undeclared site, that of the district of Turquzabad in Tehran, according to a report consulted by AFP in Vienna.
“After 18 months, Iran has still not provided the necessary, full and technically credible explanations,”
she wrote.
Tehran also continues to accumulate low-enriched uranium, the quantity of which is now 14 times the limit authorized by the agreement.