Publish Date: 10 January 2018 - 14:05

TEHRAN, Jan. 10 (MNA) – AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said Wed. that Iran is ready to take immediate countermeasures if the Trump administration decides against waiving sanctions under the nuclear deal.

Behrouz Kamalvandi noted the “contradictory news” on Washington’s decision to whether or not waive anti-Iran sanctions under the 2015 nuclear deal, adding “if US fails to extend the suspension of sanctions, the Islamic Republic of Iran will naturally take the necessary measures.”

Kamalvandi then discussed the details of a phone conversation between Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi with the IAEA’s Director General Yukiya Amano, adding “Mr. Salehi told Mr. Amano that we will continue to implement our safeguards agreements, but if the Americans do not remain committed to JCPOA, the IAEA should not expect Iran to continue its cooperation with the Agency on the same level that is has been doing in the past two years after the signing of the deal.”

He went on to add, “Salehi told Amano that under such conditions, the Agency should be prepared for decreased cooperation from Iran if the US government violates the nuclear deal.”

Mr. Salehi deemed the condition for continuing cooperation with the IAEA dependent on the commitment of all sides to the nuclear deal, Kamalvandi added.

Noting that Iran would later elaborate on how it would go about decreasing cooperation with the IAEA, Kamalvandi stressed that the Islamic Republic would remain committed to all its safeguard obligations before the signing of the JCPOA.

“The AEOI has the capacity to increase the speed of its activities in various fields, particularly enrichments, in case US abandons the JCPOA,” he said.

US State Department announced Tuesday that the Trump administration will announce its decision to whether or not waive anti-Iran sanctions under the 2015 nuclear deal on Friday.

MS/4196004