The head of the Russian delegation to talks on resuming Iranian nuclear deal, Russia’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov, hopes that Iran would answer positively to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s initiative to extend a technical agreement on monitoring Iranian nuclear facilities.
“The IAEA hasn’t yet received a confirmation from Iran that temporary understandings on verification will continue to work. Hopefully the positive answer will follow soon. It would allow to avoid uncertainties which can have unjustifiable long-lasting negative effects,” the Russian diplomat said in a Twitter post on Friday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Friday it had not yet received Iran’s response on extending the temporary technical agreement and called upon Tehran to immediately respond on the matter, Reuters reported. Earlier, the agreement paved the way for in-person talks in Vienna aimed at fully restoring the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran’s nuclear program. The talks on the issue, which are under way in Vienna, have been successful so far and are nearing completion.
In late May, the IAEA and Iran reached an agreement about extending by three months the deal about technical monitoring of Iranian nuclear facilities, which expired on May 23. The initial agreement on the issue was reached on February 23 after Iran enacted a new law to suspend the additional protocol to the safeguards agreement with the IAEA. Tehran said all data would be erased from the cameras upon the expiration of a three-month deadline if the United States failed to lift the sanctions from Iran.
