EXPLAINER: Understanding the Roles of the IAEA, the Joint Commission, and the United States.

On August 31, major Western media outlets reported that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had once again certified Iran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal. This assertion, which purported to re ect the IAEA’s seventh and latest post-implementation report on Tehran’s nuclear activities, mirrors statements by the Iranian government and key world leaders in response to the agency’s previous reports. e IAEA has repeatedly a rmed “that Iran has implemented the deal faithfully, fully, and completely,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on July 16. Federica Mogherini, the high representative of the European Union for foreign a airs and security policy, said on July 20 that the UN watchdog “has certified six times – not once, six times – the full implementation of the deal’s provisions.”

These accounts are false. In fact, the IAEA has never certified Iran’s compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

This is pretty dry reading from the FDD, but it goes a long way towards clearing up the misconceptions presented by Washington, the international community, and the mainstream media.