Kerry Welcomes IAEA Decision to Close Iran’s PMD Case
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday welcomed the UN nuclear watchdog's decision to close its investigation into the so-called possible military dimensions in Iran’s nuclear program.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors unanimously approved a draft resolution which will close a case on the PMD.
The resolution, proposed earlier by the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), was put to the vote in a session of the UN watchdog’s Board of Governors on Tuesday in Vienna and got approved with the unanimous vote of the member states.
In a written statement released in Moscow, where he is holding talks with top Russian officials on the Syrian civil war, Kerry also said the decision by the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) board would allow it to focus on the implementation of a July 14 deal under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief, Reuters reported.
"Closing the (Possible Military Dimensions) agenda item will in no way preclude the IAEA from investigating if there is reason to believe Iran is pursuing any covert nuclear activities in the future, as it had in the past," Kerry said, saying the July 14 deal, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), improved the agency's ability to monitor Iran.
"Today’s resolution makes clear that the IAEA’s Board of Governors will be watching closely to verify that Iran fully implements its commitments under the JCPOA," he said. "We will remain intensely focused going forward on the full implementation of the JCPOA in order to ensure the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program."
