Iran demands closure of IAEA probes for 'sustainable' nuclear deal

Iran is demanding the closure of the United Nations nuclear watchdog-International Atomic Energy Agency’s investigation of its nuclear activities among other guarantees to revive the country's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

A senior Iranian official said on Monday, "An end to the agency's probes is important to have a sustainable and durable nuclear agreement.” Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, said that the UN watchdog’s investigations into undeclared nuclear sites are the main issue. 

Last week, Iran sent its latest response to an EU-drafted text aimed at overcoming the problems related to the Iran nuclear deal. Last week, the President of Iran, Sayyid Ebrahim Raisolsadati, said that reviving the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers will not make sense unless the UN nuclear watchdog put an end to its investigation of undeclared sites in the country.

Earlier, the United States said that Iran needs to cooperate with the IAEA to clear up suspicions about three undeclared sites in the country. US State Department spokesman, Vedant Patel, said, “We do not believe there should be any conditionality between the deal and undeclared sites.” However, Iran has repeatedly asked IAEA to drop the issue of three undeclared sites. 

Recently, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said that his country sent a “constructive” response to the US proposals aimed at reviving the nuclear deal with world powers. However, the US dismissed the latest move from Tehran as ‘not constructive’.

Earlier, the talks for the revival of the deal were affected when Iran demanded that the US must remove the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) from the State Department’s list of Foreign Terrorist Organisations. 

Under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran had curbed its nuclear program in return for relief from the sanctions by the US, EU, and United Nations.