With less than seven weeks before the US re-imposes sanctions against Iranian oil exports, US and Iranian officials clashed on Monday at a meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by exchanging accusations over threats to global peace.
The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, told the annual UN nuclear watchdog meeting that the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal (JCPOA) was “doomed” to seriously affect peace and security in the Middle East, Reuters reported.
“As discerned almost unanimously by the international community, this ominous move is doomed to have serious repercussions for the international and regional peace and security,” Salehi said as quoted by Reuters.
The meeting of IAEA in Vienna witnessed a clash between Salehi and US Energy Secretary Rick Perry, who read US President Donald Trump’s message to the IAEA delegates, Bloomberg reported.
“The JCPOA was a flawed deal that failed to address continued Iranian misconduct,” Perry said, according to Bloomberg. The US says that Iranian interference from Yemen to Syrian is responsible for helping to destabilize the Middle East.
Iranian forces are supporting President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, where the guerrillas of the Tehran-backed Hezbollah group are also deployed. Iran also supports the Houthis in Yemen.
Some US sanctions lifted under the deal have already been put back in place while others are due to resume in November. According to Reuters, European powers have rushed to protect Iranian oil revenues and shield companies from the US measures to keep them operating in Iran, but many firms have pulled out regardless.
The sanctions have contributed to a drop in Iran’s currency, which has lost about two-thirds of its value this year, hitting a record low against the US dollar this month.
Salehi told the European delegates that now was the time for Europe “to uphold its commitments” made under the nuclear agreement.
