Tehran has ramped up uranium enrichment at a pace not seen since the signing of a landmark deal in 2015, in which Iran curtailed uranium enrichment in exchange for sanctions relief before former United States President Donald Trump. Withdrew from the agreement in 2018.
Analysts believe that Tehran may have already acquired the materials needed to build a nuclear weapon.
IAEA chief Rafael Grossi told CNN that the absence of footage from nuclear sites deprived negotiators of the nuclear deal — formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — data, calling it “technologically compromised.” Is impossible”. Thursday.
“Or you could have done (the deal) without notice, which I think is not going to happen,” Grossi said. “That’s why we’re saying it’s a very serious thing. It has side effects. Absolutely it does.”
Iran has begun installing advanced centrifuges in a cluster at an underground enrichment plant, according to Reuters, after seeing an IAEA report describing an increase in nuclear activity in Iran. The reported incident came after the IAEA’s governing body passed a resolution for failing to interpret traces of uranium found at three undeclared sites.
Iran’s nuclear program has accelerated amid rising tensions between Iran and the US. Talks on the JCPOA have stalled over mounting pressure from Tehran to list the country’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – the elite branch of the Iranian armed forces – as a terrorist organization. It is believed that this is the last important step in the ongoing talks between the two countries for about one and a half years.
Both sides have so far refused to move forward on the issue due to domestic political pressure in their respective countries.
Trump listed the IRGC as a foreign terrorist organization during his last week in office. The decision was called a “poison pill” by his critics, who accused Trump of throwing a wrench in the wheels of future talks on the reinstatement of the JCPOA.
dangerous days ahead
The stalled talks have dangerous implications for the region.
Dina Esfandiari, senior adviser for the Middle East and North Africa at Crisis Group, said: “While both the US and Iran have dealt with much of the technicalities of returning to the nuclear deal, differences remain over areas that are largely symbolic. ”
“As a result, Iran is now pushing it out,” he said.
When Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018, he imposed heavy sanctions on Iran’s economy. At the time, the US government found that Tehran continued to abide by the agreement. But like many Obama-era policies, Trump was intent on undoing the historic nuclear deal, citing Iran’s continued interference in the Middle East through Tehran-aligned paramilitary groups.
An ardent opponent of Trump’s so-called “maximum pressure campaign” against Iran, US President Joe Biden has resumed talks after taking office. But Biden’s policy has so far failed to renegotiate the deal, and Iran has consistently violated the end of the deal.
“Iranians have not seen any benefit from the JCPOA since 2018,” said Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute. “The IAEA has seen its benefits. Others have seen its benefits as Iranians have complied more widely.”
“It was only a matter of time before it ended,” said the Persians, adding, ‘Well if we can’t get anything for it, why should you? Parsi said.
Iran is almost a year away from building a nuclear weapon, say analysts who say the sector could be on the verge of further progress.
Meanwhile, Biden has run out of options, given that the US has already imposed sanctions on Iran under the Trump administration.
The sanctions have dealt a heavy blow to its economy but not destroyed it, and Iran is likely to be vulnerable to further economic penalties. Israel’s killings of top officials, including a prominent nuclear scientist, in recent years have also failed to stop Iran’s uranium enrichment.
This may allow the US and its allies to consider adopting a military option.
A war on Iran could crush its nuclear program, but would wreak unspeakable havoc across the region, in addition to dragging the US into the region it seeks to secede from.
“Some of the most aggressive escalation from the Iranian side in terms of accelerating the program came under Biden’s watch, not Trump’s,” Parsi said. “That’s because Biden continued Trump’s policy.”
CNN’s Mustafa Salem and Becky Anderson contributed to this report.