Over the weekend, Iran rejected an offer by the U.S. and our European allies to hold nuclear talks among parties to the 2015 JCPOA.
At the same time, Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is charged with monitoring the JCPOA and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, suggested that Iran is violating the JCPOA, and other separate legal undertakings, by holding, and refusing to explain, undeclared nuclear material.
Grossi’s report to the IAEA says, “After 18 months, Iran has not provided the necessary, full and technically credible explanation for the presence of these particles. In the absence of a technically credible explanation from Iran, the Agency is deeply concerned that undeclared nuclear material may have been present at this undeclared location and that such nuclear material remains unreported by Iran under its Safeguards Agreement.”
In response to these latest developments, Mark Mellman, president and CEO of Democratic Majority for Israel, released the following statement:
“President Trump was wrong to exit the JCPOA without any plan to get a better deal, and we applaud President Biden’s efforts to reach a diplomatic agreement.
“However, we are deeply disappointed that Iran has failed to return to compliance with the JCPOA as President Biden has demanded, continued overt and covert violations of its nuclear commitments, continued attacks against US and Israeli interests, and is even refusing to meet for further discussions. Iran can certainly not be rewarded for this behavior.”
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