Iran's president warns against 'political games'

March 4 (UPI) -- Iran's President Hassan Rouhani warned European signatories of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal Thursday against "political games," at a board meeting for the international agency.

"The (International Atomic Energy) Agency is not a venue for political games," Rouhani said Thursday, Tasnim News Agency reported. "Political games must be abandoned. The Agency is a place for technical work."

Amid suggestions that the three European signatories of the nuclear deal, Germany, France and Britain, collectively known as the E3, would consider a resolution censuring Iran for its nuclear program, Rouhani added "I advise them not to do that."

The E3 decided Thursday not to present the resolution censuring Iran.

IAEA Director Rafael Grossi said at a press conference Thursday Iran has agreed to participate in "a focused and systematic effort aimed at attempting to clarify a number of outstanding issues," such as presence of uranium particles and certain materials that were not declared.

Censuring Iran could further hamper international inspections of it nuclear program and diplomacy with the United States, Iran warned.

Senior U.S. diplomats supported the decision not to censure Iran, citing concerns about it impeding diplomatic talks about the United States rejoining the nuclear deal.

President Donald Trump's administration withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018, calling it "defective at its core," ahead of a deadline to recertify the 2015 pact, which lifted sanctions on Iran in return for limits on its nuclear program.

In response, Iran restarted nuclear activities banned under the agreement with Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia. Weeks before President Joe Biden's inauguration, Iran told a U.N. watchdog it may enrich uranium levels to 20%, surpassing levels set by the 2015 pact.

Although the Biden administration said last month it plans to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal, it also refused to lift the Trump-era sanctions until Iran stops enriching uranium.

Iranian officials say the country will not decrease its expanded nuclear program until the United States complies with the nuclear deal and the sanctions are lifted.

Furthermore, Tehran said last month it will limit U.N. inspections at Iranian sites if the United States and other countries do not comply with the nuclear deal.

Tehran has also said there is a limited window for the United States to rejoin the pact and it won't negotiate new terms.