IRNA - A Vienna-based Canadian Consultant on nuclear governance matters says Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is the world’s most successful and most effective nuclear verification agreement after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.


In an interview with the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA), Tariq Rauf, said in more than 20 reports the IAEA has certified that Iran is living up fully to the JCPOA which was agreed in 2015.

The JCPOA stipulates the gradual removal of the West’s sanctions against Iran in exchange for Tehran maintaining a peaceful nature of its nuclear program.

However, the US President Donald Trump announced in May the withdrawal of the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal and the reinstating of the first round of sanctions in August.

Tariq Rauf was of the view that people regard the decision by one country to leave the JCPOA to be a very damaging move and people are actually quite supportive of the three European countries to try and keep the JCPOA going as apparently Russia and China are doing as well.

Former Senior Advisor to the Chair of the Disarmament Committee at the 2015 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference added that it is in Iran’s interest to continue to implement the JCPOA.

Tariq Rauf added that at the moment there is lot of sympathy and support for Iran regarding the JCPOA.

Expert on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation issues said that Iran is fulfilling all the obligations under the JCPOA but US President Donald Trump had quit it.

Earlier Pakistan Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal had also stated that the US unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), despite Iran adherence to the agreement, is regrettable.