France, Germany, and the United Kingdom would like to thank
the Director General for his latest report (GOV/2020/26)
and the Deputy Director General for the Technical Briefing.
We commend the IAEA for fulfilling its mandate to verify
and monitor the implementation of the JCPoA by Iran with
impartiality and professionalism. We greatly value the
approach the IAEA has taken in conducting its work, and
welcome the Agency’s regular and objective reporting.
As participants to the JCPoA, we reiterate our continued
support for the agreement, and our commitment to working
towards its preservation and full implementation. We are
extremely concerned by Iran’s violation of its nuclear
commitments, which have grave and irreversible
proliferation consequences.
Iran continues to enrich uranium above the 3.67% JCPoA
limit and is stockpiling lowenriched uranium far beyond the
authorised limit of 300kg UF6. Since the March Board, Iran
has significantly increased this stockpile, which is now
almost eight times higher than the limit Iran has agreed to
in the JCPoA. This is despite the Board sending a strong
message to Iran in March.
Iran is also continuing research and development on
numerous models of advanced centrifuges several times more
powerful than Iran’s standard machines, no longer
respecting the relevant restrictions in the JCPoA. In
contravention of the JCPoA, Iran is accumulating
low-enriched uranium through its R&D activities,
including, inter alia, by feeding UF6 into cascades of 164
IR-2m, 164 IR-4 and 135 IR-6 centrifuges.
Through this R&D Iran is irreversibly improving its
enrichment capabilities. This is a matter of significant
concern.
Iran’s enrichment activities at Fordow, which were resumed
in November 2019, raise grave proliferation concerns. There
is no plausible civilian justification for enriching
uranium at this underground facility.
In view of Iran’s measures contrary to the JCPoA, the E3
initiated the JCPoA’s Dispute Resolution Mechanism on 14
January. We did so in good faith and in hope of finding a
diplomatic way forward, while preserving the agreement. We
have been clear that our overall goal is a diplomatic
solution to bring Iran back to compliance, and that this
decision did not mean taking an automatic path to the UN
Security Council. We encourage Iran to engage
constructively in substantial discussions with us and the
other remaining JCPoA participants in this regard.
On 26 February 2020 the JCPoA Joint Commission met and had
a constructive exchange of views. We have continued
discussions. However, for these conversations to bear fruit
Iran needs to come back into full compliance with all of
its nuclear commitments under the JCPoA without further
delay.
We have been consistently clear in stating our regret and
concern regarding the US withdrawal from the JCPoA
including by not extending sanction waivers for nuclear
non-proliferation projects, which are key to the JCPoA and
have been endorsed by UN Security Council resolution 2231.
We will continue to contribute to the Arak Modernisation
Project and support EU-led civil nuclear cooperation
projects as part of the implementation of Annex 3.
As E3, we have continued to lift sanctions as foreseen by
the JCPoA and have made additional efforts to facilitate
legitimate trade with Iran by making INSTEX fully
operational.
In order to support the Agency’s verification and
monitoring in Iran and to cover extra costs related to the
Covid-19 pandemic, France, Germany and the United Kingdom
are providing voluntary extra-budgetary contributions
amounting to a total 750,000 Euros. We take this
opportunity to call on Iran to resume facilitating special
flights, as needed, chartered by the IAEA to compensate for
the reduction in regular commercial flights due to the
global health crisis.
We once again thank the IAEA for its latest quarterly
report on Iran and welcome the rigorous and impartial
implementation of its mandate by the Agency. We call on the
Agency to continue to provide further detailed technical
updates, as appropriate, and to make its latest quarterly
report public.
