Vienna, Austria - July 10, 2019 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Meeting hall, attendees of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors meeting
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Mahdi Ghodsi, economist, Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies:
"United States cannot go back to the deal because it shows as a sign of weakness. So I can say that the United States will not go back to the JCPOA, but at least it can reduce its sanctions pressure from Iran so that Iran comes back and do further negotiations beyond the JCPOA and beyond the nuclear deal."
3. Attendees at IAEA Board of Governors meeting
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Mahdi Ghodsi, economist, Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies (ending with shots 5-9):
"It was the United States who somehow withdrew from the JCPOA a while ago, more than a year ago, and actually, when U.S. is not part of the deal, the request by the U.S. somehow does not look good, it's not convincing for other signatories of the deal and also for other members of the IAEA. The somehow breach of the agreement by the Iranian part, it was not very huge, because in order to have a nuclear bomb, the enrichment of uranium should be somehow at least 90 percent, and Iran just surpassed around four to five percent. So there's still a huge amount to reach that level, and as everyone says, it was a kind of calibrated move."
5. Attendees at IAEA Board of Governors meeting
6. Logo of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
7. Various of attendees, press
8. Various of Iranian ambassador to IAEA Kazem Gharib Abadi walking to podium, speaking
9. U.S. Ambassador to IAEA Jackie Wolcott
10. Cameramen taking photos

The United States should reduce its sanctions pressure and start negotiations with Iran, said economist Mahdi Ghodsi of the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies on Wednesday.

Ghodsi made the comment after the 35 members of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors gathered at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna of Austria for a closed-door meeting at the request of the United States on Wednesday.

"United States cannot go back to the deal because it shows as a sign of weakness. So I can say that the United States will not go back to the JCPOA, but at least it can reduce its sanctions pressure from Iran so that Iran comes back and do further negotiations beyond the JCPOA and beyond the nuclear deal," said the economist.

It was confirmed last week that Iran had exceeded the stockpile of enriched uranium permitted under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in response to the U.S. withdrawal from the deal and sanctions against the Gulf country.

Ghodsi said such an action by Iran is not a huge breach of the JCPOA, but a calibrated move.

"It was the United States who somehow withdrew from the JCPOA a while ago, more than a year ago, and actually, when U.S. is not part of the deal, the request by the U.S. somehow does not look good, it's not convincing for other signatories of the deal and also for other members of the IAEA. The somehow breach of the agreement by the Iranian part, it was not very huge, because in order to have a nuclear bomb, the enrichment of uranium should be somehow at least 90 percent, and Iran just surpassed around four to five percent. So there's still a huge amount to reach that level, and as everyone says, it was a kind of calibrated move," said Ghodsi.