Iran urges IAEA to remain independent amid US pressure
Iran’s foreign minister wrote a letter to the IAEA warning it not to fall for US pressure regarding the nuclear deal.
Despite having done so already twice, albeit under severe pressure from his own Cabinet, US President Donald Trump has made his intentions clear to American journalists that he does not plan on certifying Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal signed between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany. European leaders have warned the United States to not walk away from the nuclear deal. However, on Aug. 23, Trump dispatched US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley to Vienna to press the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Yukiya Amano on their reading of Iran’s compliance.
It is not clear yet how Iran, or Europe, will respond if Trump decides to not recertify Iran’s compliance and does not waive US sanctions on Iran. Diplomatically however, Iran is not waiting for that moment and is answering back. In a letter dated Aug. 19 but released Aug. 23, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who was the lead negotiator in the nuclear talks, warned about US adherence to the nuclear deal.
