Feb 22, 2019 - World

UN atomic watchdog finds Iran in compliance with 2015 nuclear deal

Hassan Rouhani

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Photo: Mikhail Svetlov via Getty Images

The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency says that Iran is still in compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a 2015 deal aimed at preventing Tehran from building nuclear weapons in exchange for economic incentives, the AP reports.

Why it matters: President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal last May, calling it "defective at its core." His own intelligence chiefs, like the IAEA, have assessed that Iran is not currently working to develop its nuclear capabilities. The withdrawal has been a source of significant tension with the U.S.' European allies, who have sought to salvage the deal in defiance of Trump.

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