TEHRAN - Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaker of the Iranian Parliament, says any cooperation between the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) beyond the Safeguards Agreement will be against the law ratified by the parliament.

In reaction to a “temporary bilateral technical understanding” between Iran and IAEA director Rafael Mariano Grossi in Tehran on Sunday, 
Qalibaf tweeted, “Based on the Parliament’s law, implementation of the Additional Protocol will completely stop from February 23 and any access beyond the Safeguards Agreement is absolutely forbidden and illegal.”  

Grossi visited Tehran to discuss how to work with Iran in light of Tehran’s plan to halt the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which goes into effect on February 23.

In his message, the Parliament speaker made it clear that the implementation of the protocol will be fully suspended as of Feb. 3 

Qalibaf underscored that any future cooperation between Iran and the IAEA beyond the Safeguards Agreement will depend on the Parliament’s decision.

The Iranian parliament passed a law some two months ago obliging the government to reduce commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal – JCPOA – in response to a violation of the agreement by the other parties. 

The law, called “Strategic Action to Cease Actions and Protect the Interest of Iranian Nation”, has set certain conditions for a revival of the JCPOA. Part of the law says the Additional Protocol will be suspended on Feb. 23 since during this time the remaining parties to the nuclear deal (Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia) failed to honor their obligations under the JCPOA. 

Grossi held talks on Sunday with AEOI director Ali Akbar Salehi and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran.
 
The two sides issued a joint statement late on Sunday according to which Iran will stop its voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol and will deny IAEA inspectors access to its nuclear facilities beyond the Safeguards Agreement for three months.

“The AEOI informed the IAEA that in order to comply with the act passed by the Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Iran called “Strategic Action to Cease Actions and Protect the interest of Iranian Nation” (The “Law”) Iran will stop the implementation of the voluntary measures as envisaged in the JCPOA, as of 23 February 2021,” part of the statement reads. 

In a statement on Monday, 226 Iranian lawmakers insisted on the full implementation of the law concerning the Additional Protocol.

The MPs also underscored that a possible U.S. return to the JCPOA would take place only after a full, practical and verifiable termination of the banking and oil sanctions against the Iranian nation.

In response to the violation of the JCPOA, Iran has already increased nuclear enrichment to 20 percent and installed advanced centrifuges. These steps have been taken in accordance to the parliamentary ratification.

EE/PA