Iran threatens to stop implementing IAEA additional protocol if US sanctions not lifted

TEHRAN - A senior Iranian official said Thursday that Iran will stop implementing the Additional Protocol of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) if the US sanctions against Iran are not lifted in the coming days.

Amir Abdollahian, special assistant to the speaker of Parliament for international affairs, said that the deadline for the US and European signatories to the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal to lift sanctions will expire in four days.

"With no effective sanctions lifted, Iran's exit from the @iaeaorg's #Additional_Protocol will be definite," Abdollahian tweeted.

Iran will no longer wait for "empty promises" of the White House and the three European countries, namely Britain, France and Germany, he said.

Abdollahian referred to Iranian parliament's Strategic Action to Lift Sanctions which mandates the Iranian government to stop inspections pertaining to the Additional Protocol of the IAEA as of Feb. 23, in case the new US administration does not lift sanctions against Iran.

On Saturday, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi will visit Tehran to talk about the agency's verification activities and "to find a mutually agreeable solution for the IAEA to continue essential verification activities in the country."

In January, Iran launched 20-percent uranium enrichment process as part of Iran's Strategic Action Plan which was approved by the parliament in December 2020.

In response to the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal in 2018 and re-imposition of sanctions, Iran has suspended implementing parts of its obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal.