Iran is still sticking to the 2015 nuclear accord, a UN atomic watchdog report showed Thursday, but noted Tehran is looking to develop seaborne nuclear capabilities.
The International Atomic Energy Agency document, the ninth since the deal came into force in January 2016, showed Iran complying with the accord’s key parameters, four months ahead of US President Donald Trump’s deadline to fix its “disastrous flaws.”
However, the IAEA report also said that Iran informed it in January by letter of a decision to “construct naval nuclear propulsion in future.”
The IAEA has asked Tehran for further details. Press reports in the past have said that Tehran wants to develop nuclear-powered ships and/or submarines.
This has created concern in the past because of the possibility that Iran might use highly enriched uranium, forbidden under the nuclear deal, to power such vessels.
In December 2016, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered the country’s scientists to start work on nuclear-powered ships in response to the renewal of sanctions by the United States. READ MORE
