Iran: Nuclear Power

(asked on 16th December 2020) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of Iranian compliance with the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal; and if he will make a statement ahead of the biannual UN Security Council meeting on 22 December 2020 on Iranian compliance.


Answered by
James Cleverly Portrait
James Cleverly
Home Secretary
This question was answered on 11th January 2021

We remain deeply concerned by Iran's continued and systematic non-compliance with its nuclear commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA). We note with great concern both Iran's recent announcement to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that it intends to install an additional three cascades of advanced centrifuges at the Fuel Enrichment Plant in Natanz, and the recent law passed by the Iranian Parliament, which - if implemented - would substantially expand Iran's nuclear programme and limit IAEA monitoring access. We have been clear, both at the 16 December Joint Commission and at the 21 December ministerial meeting of JCPoA participants, that Iran must not implement these measures and must return to full compliance with its commitments under the deal. We also made this point clearly at the UN Security Council meeting on 22 December on the Secretary General's ninth report on the implementation of UNSCR 2231.

The UK remains firmly committed to the JCPoA. Along with France and Germany, we have consistently worked to preserve the JCPoA framework over the last two years. We have made clear at every stage that we favour a diplomatic solution to resolve our concerns over the Iranian nuclear programme. And we have worked tirelessly to keep the diplomatic door open for renewed talks between Iran and the US. President-elect Biden has said that if Iran returns to compliance with the deal, the US would re-enter the agreement and seek to both strengthen it and extend it. We welcome this commitment. This is an important opportunity to restart engagement between Iran and the US, and to realise the objectives of the JCPoA.

Reticulating Splines