France Concerned About IAEA Report on Iran, Will Consult With Partners, Foreign Ministry Says

PARIS, (Sputnik) - France is concerned about the latest International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) report on Iran's enriched uranium stockpiles and will hold consultations with partners ahead of the meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors, French Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Anne-Claire Legendre said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the IAEA said that Iran's stockpiles of enriched uranium are 19 times higher than the limit set under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and the amount of uranium enriched to 60% far exceeds the amount needed to build a nuclear bomb in case of further enrichment.

"We regret that Iran did not take advantage of the opportunity for cooperation provided by the Director General [Rafael Grossi] and did not clarify the origin of the uranium particles at the three undeclared nuclear sites," Legendre told a briefing.

According to the spokeswoman, France will hold consultations with partners ahead of the meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors on September 12.

"If Iran refuses to cooperate, the IAEA cannot guarantee that Iran's nuclear program is exclusively peaceful," Legendre added.

In 2015, Iran signed the JCPOA with the P5+1 group of countries (the United States, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom - plus Germany) and the European Union. It required Iran to scale back its nuclear program and severely downgrade its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief, including lifting the arms embargo five years after the deal's adoption.

In 2018, the US abandoned its conciliatory stance on Iran, withdrawing from the JCPOA and implementing hard-line policies against Tehran, prompting Iran to largely abandon its obligations under the accord.

In December 2021, JCPOA parties agreed on two drafts of a new deal, but no definitive agreement has been reached. Since then, the parties have had several rounds of talks to revive the deal.