Ryan Costello, Policy Director with the National Iranian American Council, issued the following statement after the Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, and the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, announced an agreement that will allow the IAEA to service equipment at Iran’s nuclear facilities following urgent diplomatic talks:
Back to top“The IAEA agreement with Iran is a welcome development and the result of diplomatic flexibility and persistence. Far more of this will be needed to end the diplomatic standoff and restore the JCPOA. As next steps, the U.S. and EU should withhold their planned censure resolution to create space for negotiations. In turn, Iran should return to multilateral negotiations without delay and cooperate with the IAEA’s ongoing investigations.
“At this critical stage, the diplomatic process must be insulated from both escalation and outside sabotage. Efforts to maximize leverage will only upset the careful balancing act that is needed to ensure that an agreement survives the heated politics in both Washington and Tehran. Pursuing pressure at the expense of compromise will only ensure Iranians continue to suffer under crushing sanctions and that Iran’s nuclear program continues to expand.”
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