IAEA Report Suggests JCPOA Remains Viable

Stephanie Liechtenstein of Foreign Policy, one of the key journalists covering the Iranian Nuclear talks (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), has tweeted that a restoration of the 2015 deal may still be viable despite IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi's warning that Iranian removal of monitoring equipment may constitute a “fatal blow” to talks.

• Liechtenstein: "A confidential IAEA report on the camera removal in Iran was sent to member states last night. A source shared it w/ me today. The report seems to indicate that even after the 3-4 week period expires, other measures could be implemented that could still enable a JCPOA revival."
• Liechtenstein identifies a key sentence of the report as evidence that the accord may still be viable: "A longer interruption [longer than the 3-4 weeks] would inevitably require significantly more stringent safeguards measures in order for the Agency to be able to confirm the consistency of Iran's declarations."
• Yesterday, the US State Department issued a statement warning that the Iranian move may precipitate a nuclear crisis and would lead to heavy sanctions and penalties on Tehran is the present course is maintained.