US Calls on IAEA to Further Assess Iran Over ‘Potential Concerns’

The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency has voted unanimously to close Iran’s nuclear investigations dossier and to rescind all its former resolutions against Iran. The Security Council endorsed the deal in a resolution on July 20 that also called on Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons. Although Iran has warned the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that ending the enquiry would encourage Iran to re start development of Nuclear weapons.

In the agency’s report, circulated this month, it was clear that Iran hadn’t offered clear answers to a number of questions raised about its past work.

Tehran has said it expects the economic sanctions against it to be lifted in January. Obama administration officials did not elaborate. “The resolution by the board of governors of the agency shows the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program”, said Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.

Iran also violated the United Nations ballistic missile ban with launches in 2012 and 2013, according to the United Nations report.

The decision means the 12-year investigation will now finally be closed, as the West had believed for over a decade that Tehran was striving to produce nuclear weapons.

Israel, which opposed the pact, said that “serious doubts and outstanding issues regarding Iran’s program still remain”, despite the resolution.

Former senior IAEA Tariq Rauf said Iran had been living up to its obligations. IAEA chief Amano also noted that the Iran issue had a “long and complex history” and that “the legacy of mistrust between Iran and the global community must be overcome”.

Iran will now dismantle some of its nuclear centrifuges and ship out a major portion of its stockpile of enriched uranium. The US side plans to work with the UN Security Council members to respond to the incident, she said.

Power “rejected the notion that countries raising the matter of such violations in the council were responsible for destabilizing” the Iranian nuclear agreement, adding that “council members seeking a council response to such violations were not the rule breakers”.

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday hailed as “great success for Iranians” a recent resolution adopted by the United Nations nuclear agency to conclude probes into alleged military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear activities.

While ballistic missile tests may violate U.N. Security Council sanctions, council diplomats note that such launches are not a violation of the nuclear deal, which is focused on specific nuclear activities by Iran.