Iran remains compliant with 2015 nuclear deal: IAEA

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has once again reaffirmed Iran's full compliance with its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal in the second such report after the US stopped fulfilling its side of the bargain and left the multilateral agreement in violation of international law.

On Thursday, Reuters cited a confidential report by the UN atomic watchdog to its member states as saying that Iran has stayed within the limits set in the nuclear deal on its enriched uranium level, its stock of enriched uranium and other items.

"Timely and proactive cooperation by Iran in providing such access facilitates implementation of the Additional Protocol and enhances confidence," it said.

Reuters also cited an unnamed senior diplomat as saying that, "The production rate (of enriched uranium by Iran) is constant. There is no change whatsoever."

It added that the new quarterly report was similar in language to the one released in May, the same month that US President Donald Trump announced Washington's withdrawal from the nuclear accord in defiance of its own allies in the deal and the entire international community.

According to the Thursday report, Iran has continued to provide the IAEA with the necessary access for inspections aimed at verifying Tehran's commitment to the nuclear deal -- officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Honoring JCPOA is not Iran's only option: Zarif

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet shortly after the IAEA report that remaining committed to the JCPOA is "not Iran's only option."

Following Washington's withdrawal, Iran said it would not immediately leave the landmark deal, giving time to the other signatories -- France, the UK, Germany, Russia and China -- to find ways to compensate for the absence of Washington.

Tehran says the Europeans should provide "practical guarantees" that its economic dividends of the deal would stay intact amid US attempts to pile more economic pressure on the Islamic Republic.

Iran's other partners have slammed Washington's decision to abandon the agreement, which has been endorsed by a UN Security Council resolution, saying they will work to keep the accord alive.

The Europeans have vowed to make efforts to protect their businesses against US bans on Iran, and, at the same time, protect their own sovereignty in the face of American unilateralism.

The European Union is currently working to finalize an economic package aimed at keeping Iran in the deal.

The bloc has already activated an updated version of its Blocking Statute, which prohibits European companies from complying with US sanctions on Iran, and is looking into a payment system to Iran independent of Washington.

It also allocated 18 million euros to development projects in Iran as part of a broader package of 50 million euros earmarked for the country in the EU budget.

On Wednesday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei warned that Iran will leave the 2015 nuclear if it fails to serve its interests.