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IAEA Releases Restricted Documents on Iran’s Nuclear Activity | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, and the European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini arrive to attend a press briefing after their meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, April 16, 2016. (AP /Ebrahim Noroozi)


London – The International Atomic Energy Agency has published on its website a number of documents, previously restricted, about the international nuclear deal with Iran reached in 2015.

The documents released Friday are accompanied by a letter from the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, who authorized the publication.

Some of the documents dated to January 6, 2016, 10 days before the deal with Iran went into effect.

Mogherini’s office issued a statement, saying that the documents “are merely providing clarifications … for the implementation of Iran’s nuclear-related measures as set out in the JCPOA” — the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the official name of the agreement.

When the nuclear deal was agreed on, Iran had more than 100 kilograms of liquid or solid waste containing low-enriched uranium as part of its enrichment activities.

Some of the material remains and the documents posted Friday declare the low-enriched uranium it contains as “unrecoverable” and thereby not part of the 300-kilogram limit.

The deal seeks to ensure that Iran uses its nuclear capacity only for generation of power and not for weapons manufacture.

According to the Associated Press, two officials from one of the five permanent Security Council member nations at the table with Iran suggested that the release of the documents were meant to show unity on the issue among criticism from experts that U.S. lawmakers critical of the deal have seized on as an example of allowing Iran to undercut the pact.

Publication of the document comes shortly after the IAEA warned Iran to curb its production of low-enriched uranium or face the possibility of exceeding its allotted limit. The two officials said, however, that the two issues were not related, and Iran for now remained within its obligations.