Iran: nuclear deal with world powers worth preserving

  head of Iran's nuclear ncy said Monday that landmark 2015 deal between Tehran and world powers on his country's atomic program is struggling since unilateral U.S. withdrawal, but is still worth preserving.

Ali Akbar Salehi told delegates at a conference of International Atomic Energy ncy in Vienna that so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, has been “caught in a quasi-stalemate situation” since President Donald Trump pulled U.S. out in 2018.

deal promises Iran ecomic incentives in exchange for limits on its nuclear program. remaining world powers in deal — France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia — have been struggling to offset re-imposed American sanctions.

Iran has been steadily breaking restrictions outlined in deal on amount of uranium it can enrich, purity it can enrich it to, and or limitations in order to pressure those countries to do more.

Salehi, speaking in a video address, said it's of “utmost importance” that those countries find a solution to resolve “ difficulties caused by illegal withdrawal of U.S. from deal.”

“re is still a broad agreement among international community that JCPOA should be preserved,” he said.

Speaking after Salehi, U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette made reference to deal, saying only that “United States remains committed to addressing threats posed by nuclear programs of both rth Korea and Iran.”

“On top of its horrific record as world’s largest state sponsor of terrorism, Iran has a lamentable history of providing only grudging, dilatory, and incomplete cooperation, if at all, with IAEA. Iran must do more, much more, to ensure both timely and complete compliance with safeguards obligations,” he said.

ultimate goal of JCPOA is to prevent Iran from being able to build a nuclear bomb — something Iran insists it does t want to do.

Though it has broken pact's limitations, it still has far less enriched uranium and lower-purity uranium than it had before signing deal.

It has also continued to allow IAEA inspectors full access to its nuclear facilities, which world powers still in deal maintain is reason eugh to try and keep it in place.

Iran recently granted IAEA access to two sites dating from before deal, which Director General Rafael Grossi said he hoped “will reinforce cooperation and enhance mutual trust.”