The White House National Security Council on Monday said it supports the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Chief Rafael Grossi's call on Iran to fully and immediately cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
The world must come together to stop the Iranian regime’s blatant disregard of the IAEA, the White House National Security Council said in a tweet and added: "No other country has ever denied access to a formal request under the Additional Protocol".
In a virtual meeting with the IAEA's Board of Governors on Monday, Grossi said he was seriously concerned that Iran has denied us access to two locations over four months and that it has not engaged in substantive discussions to clarify our questions related to possible undeclared nuclear material and nuclear-related activities for over a year.
"This is adversely affecting the Agency’s ability to resolve the questions and to provide credible assurance of the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities at these locations in Iran," he said and called on Tehran to cooperate immediately and fully with the agency, including providing prompt access to the locations specified by the IAEA.
Grossi, however, pointed out that since January the U.N.'s nuclear agency has not observed any changes to Iran's implementation of its nuclear-related commitments in connection with this particular announcement or in the level of cooperation by Iran in relation to IAEA verification and monitoring activities under the JCPOA.
In January Iran announced that its nuclear program would no longer be “subject to any restrictions in the operational sphere” in retaliation for the U.S. sanctions.
"The Agency continues to verify the non-diversion of nuclear material declared by Iran under its Safeguards Agreement. Evaluations regarding the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities for Iran continue," Grossi said.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi on Monday said any "unconstructive decision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will receive an "appropriate response" from Iran.
Bloomberg reported on Monday that Germany, France and the United Kingdom have prepared a resolution demanding Iran "fully cooperate" with the IAEA investigation.
According to Reuters, U.S. intelligence agencies believe that until 2003, the Islamic Republic had a secret plan to develop nuclear weapons. Israel says that its access to an extensive information archive of Iran's nuclear program has provided Tel Aviv with even more information about Iran's previous nuclear activities.
