German authorities today described Tehran’s decision to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which they say is “necessary for a diplomatic solution” to the Iranian nuclear issue, as a “catastrophic signal.”
The measure, approved today by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, “would remove Iran’s nuclear program from any international supervision,” German Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Gize told reporters.
Pezeshkian final approval to the Law on the Suspension of Cooperation with the IAEA, Iranian state television reported today, adding that he had signed the law, while Iran’s Supreme National Security Council should oversee its implementation after its adoption.
The 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which Iran reached with world powers during the presidency of then-US President Barack Obama, allowed Tehran to enrich uranium, but only to a level sufficient to produce fuel for nuclear power plants, well below the threshold needed to make weapons.
The deal significantly reduced Iran’s uranium stockpile and relied on the IAEA for monitoring and control. However, US President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018, during his first term, on the grounds that it was not strict enough, sparking new tensions.
Iran then began enriching uranium well above the permitted limits, which international experts say has created a stockpile sufficient to produce nuclear weapons.
