Chief of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Mohammad Eslami looks down as he delivers a speech during the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference, an annual meeting of all the IAEA member states, at the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria on Sept 20, 2021. (JOE KLAMAR / AFP)
TEHRAN – The president of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said on Monday that the time has come for the US to revise its flawed policies and remove all sanctions on Iran in a practical and verifiable manner, according to Iran's official news agency IRNA.
In May 2018, former US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and unilaterally re-imposed sanctions on Iran
In an address to the 65th regular session of the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which kicked off in the Austrian capital Vienna on Monday and will continue until September 24, Mohammad Eslami noted that US "maximum pressure" policy against Iran, introduced and pursued by former US President Donald Trump, has ended in failure.
He added that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was signed between Iran and the P5+1 in 2015, is a clear example of Tehran's goodwill, regretting the US not only refrained from complying with the agreement, but also withdrew from the treaty.
Eslami also said Iran has always cooperated with the IAEA, calling on the agency to refrain from politicizing the Islamic Republic's peaceful nuclear program and maintain its independence, impartiality and professionalism.
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Last Sunday, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi visited Tehran and held talks with the AEOI chief. Eslami described the negotiations centering on technical issues as "constructive" and said "confidence-building" is what matters for Tehran and the UN nuclear watchdog.
After six rounds of talks in Vienna since April aiming to restore the JCPOA and return the US to it, the parties said serious differences remain between Tehran and the Washington for the revival of the deal. The sixth round of the talks ended on June 20, with the negotiations currently on hiatus.
In May 2018, Trump pulled the United States out of the JCPOA and unilaterally re-imposed sanctions on Iran. In response, Tehran has gradually stopped implementing parts of its commitments to the deal since May 2019.