Statement delivered on behalf of France, Germany and the
United Kingdom, 9 June 2021.
From:
UK Mission to the UN in
Vienna
France, Germany, and the United Kingdom would like to thank DG
Grossi for his latest report contained in GOV/2021/28 and DDG
Aparo for the Technical Briefing.
As E3 we remain fully committed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan
of Action (JCPoA) which, when implemented in full, is in the
collective security interests of us all.
We fully support and are committed to the ongoing negotiations
undertaken by all JCPoA participants and the United States in
Vienna focussed on facilitating a return of the US to the deal,
bringing Iran back into full compliance with its commitments and
restoring the benefits of the JCPoA for all.
We remain deeply concerned at Iran’s continued violations of its
nuclear-related commitments, including the escalatory steps taken
since January 2021. Collectively, these steps present a
significant nuclear proliferation risk, have irreversible
consequences for Iran’s nuclear capabilities, and undermine the
non-proliferation benefits of the JCPoA. It is particularly
regrettable that some of these steps have come at a time when all
JCPoA participants and the United States are engaged in
substantive discussions, with the objective of finding a
diplomatic solution to restore the JCPoA.
Iran continues to install technical infrastructure for the
production of uranium metal and to produce uranium metal at
laboratory scale. In addition, it is enriching uranium up to 60%
to produce high enriched uranium for the first time. Iran has
thus become the first and only country world-wide to produce 60%
uranium in an IAEAsafeguarded facility. These are critical steps
for nuclear weapons production and provide irreversible nuclear
weapons-related knowledge gains.
Iran also continues to build up its low enriched uranium
stockpile and to expand its enrichment capacity.
We urge Iran to stop, and to reverse any action contrary to the
JCPoA, to seize the diplomatic opportunity of the Vienna talks,
and to return to full compliance with its JCPoA commitments.
In this context, we are deeply concerned by the continued limits
placed on the IAEA’s monitoring and surveillance activities in
Iran. The temporary technical understanding between the IAEA and
Iran in place until 24 June does not diminish the core need for
Iran to restore all accesses by resuming its provisional
application of the Additional Protocol and reinstating all
JCPoA-related transparency provisions in full.
Iran must co-operate fully with the IAEA and grant unimpeded
access to all relevant sites and activities to ensure the Agency
can continue to fulfil its reporting mandate under UNSCR 2231
regarding Iran’s nuclear-related JCPoA commitments.
In limiting IAEA access, Iran makes it harder for the
international community to assure themselves that Iran’s
activities remain exclusively peaceful. We know that our very
serious concerns at Iran’s actions are widely shared among
members of this Board.
The E3 are working intensively with JCPoA participants, and the
US, towards the restoration and revitalisation of the JCPoA. We
encourage Iran to seize the diplomatic opportunity towards a
return to full compliance with its JCPoA commitments to restore
the benefits of the JCPoA for all. It is right that this Board
keeps the very serious and significant issues addressed today
under active review.
We encourage the DG to keep the Board informed regarding progress
on monitoring and verification in Iran in all its aspects.
We would welcome that the Agency’s latest quarterly report on
monitoring and verification in Iran be made public.
