IAEA welcomes JCPOA as ‘real success’ for diplomacy

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has hailed the “significant progress” made over Iran’s nuclear program in the past year as a real success for diplomacy, saying it will work to provide a report on his final assessment of Tehran’s atomic work by mid-December.      

Yukiya Amano, the director general of the IAEA, made the remarks in an address to the 70th regular session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

He said the conclusion of the talks over Iran’s nuclear program was “a real success for diplomacy,” and welcomed efforts by Iran and the P5+1 group in reaching the agreement, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in mid-2015.

“I believe the significant progress made on the Iran nuclear issue represents a real success for diplomacy. It demonstrates that even complex and challenging issues can be tackled effectively if all parties are committed to dialog – not dialog for its own sake, but dialog aimed at achieving results,” Amano said, adding that “the sustained efforts of the IAEA, the P5+1 countries, the Security Council and, of course, Iran itself” culminated in the agreement.

Iran and the P5+1 group of countries – the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus Germany – clinched the JCPOA in the Austrian capital, Vienna, on July 14.

On the same day, a roadmap for the clarification of outstanding issues regarding Iran’s nuclear program was signed by Amano and head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, in the Austrian capital.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Amano said he is now finalizing his analysis of all of the information at hand, adding that he will present his “final assessment on all past and present outstanding issues [regarding Iran’s nuclear work] to the IAEA Board of Governors by December 15th.”

The IAEA chief added that he will present a “factual, objective and impartial” report, based on which the IAEA member states will determine an appropriate response.

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