BERLIN (AP) – German Foreign Minister on Wednesday called on Iran to accept diplomatic revelations from the West to preserve its nuclear power in 2015.
Heiko Maas has accused Tehran of undermining the transparency it has under the 2015 Joint Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, after Iran began restricting international inspections of its nuclear facilities on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that from 16 February, Iran had added 17.6 kilograms of uranium, enriched to 20%, to its stockpile, exceeding the 3.67% purity allowed under the JCPOA.
“Ultimately, Iran must understand that what is important is to decalate and accept the offer of diplomacy that is on the table, also from the United States,” Maas said.
Iran’s breaches of the JCPOA pose a major problem for US President Joe Biden, who wants to block the Trump administration’s decision to unilaterally withdraw from the US three years ago, calling for the reintroduction of crippling economic sanctions against Iran.
Iran effectively set a deadline this week to lift the sanctions within three months, after which it said it would wipe out the recording material from its nuclear facilities.
Maas said the transparency required by Iran’s JCPOA would not be met during that period.
“But we still want to use these three months to discuss step by step with other partners in the nuclear agreement how the USA can return to this,” Maas said. ‘And especially (the discussion) is about the order of measures. That is, who should take what step so that a general agreement can be reached to which the USA is again part of this agreement. “
The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, revealed late Tuesday that his country does not have confidence in the agreement with Tehran.
“We have seen the quality of agreements with extremist regimes like you in the last century and in this one, with the North Korean government,” he said. “With or without agreements – we will do everything we can to prevent you from arming yourself with nuclear weapons.”