VIENNA: The failure of the 2015 accord between Iran and world powers to restrict Tehran’s nuclear program would be a “great loss,” the head of the UN’s atomic watchdog said Monday.
International Atomic Energy Agency director general Yukiya Amano said Iran was, as of today, “implementing its nuclear-related commitments” under the deal.
US President Donald Trump has been a harsh critic of what he calls the agreement’s “disastrous flaws.”
In January, he set a 120-day deadline for US lawmakers and European allies to “fix” the agreement or face a US withdrawal.
In a speech opening a meeting of the IAEA’s board of governors, Amano said the deal “represents a significant gain for verification” and that if it “were to fail, it would be a great loss for nuclear verification and for multilateralism.”
Last month an IAEA report showed that Iran was continuing to abide by the deal’s key measures.
Amano said inspectors had had “access to all the sites and locations which we needed to visit.”
He added that the agency had requested “further clarifications” over notification Iran gave the agency in January that it intended to construct “naval nuclear propulsion” at some point in the future.
Trump is concerned that parts of the deal start to expire from 2026 and that it fails to address Iran’s missile program, its regional activities or its human rights abuses.
A US exit could kill the deal, which the Islamic republic has refused to renegotiate.
While Iran has reaped massive economic benefits from the accord, notably by being able to resume oil exports, it is still constrained by US sanctions in other areas.
Iran nuclear accord failure would be ‘great loss’, IAEA chief says
Iran nuclear accord failure would be ‘great loss’, IAEA chief says
The art of war: fears for masterpieces on loan to Louvre Abu Dhabi
- UAE paid more than €1 billion to borrow priceless works, but experts in France want them back
PARIS: The Middle East war has raised fears for the safety of priceless masterpieces on loan from France to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the museum’s only foreign branch.
The Abu Dhabi museum, which opened in 2017, has so far escaped damage from nearly 1,800 Iranian drone and missile strikes launched since the conflict erupted on Feb. 28.
However, concerns are mounting in France. “The works must be removed,” said Didier Selles, who helped broker the original agreement between France and the UAE.
French journal La Tribune de l’Art echoed that alarm. “The Louvre’s works in Abu Dhabi must be secured!” it said.
France’s culture ministry said French authorities were “in close and regular contact with the authorities of the UAE to ensure the protection of the works loaned by France.”
Under the agreement with the UAE, France agreed to provide expertise, lend works of art and organize exhibitions, in return for €1 billion, including €400 million for licensing the use of the Louvre name. The deal was extended in 2021 to 2047 for an additional €165 million.
Works on loan include paintings by Rembrandt and Chardin, Classical statues of Isis, Roman sarcophagi and Islamic masterpieces: such as the Pyxis of Al-Mughira.
A Louvre Abu Dhabi source said the museum was designed to protect collections from both security threats and natural disasters.
