A quarterly International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report sent to member states indicated that Iran remains in violation of certain limits outlined in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and that its stockpile of low-enriched uranium is increasing. The report disclosed that Iran is continuing to enrich uranium to 4.5 percent - far from the level needed to build a nuclear weapon but enough to power its reactor at Bushehr - in violation of the JCPOA's 3.67 percent limit. The IAEA reported that Iran has continued to allow inspectors and has remained under the limit of 130 tons (143.3 U.S. tons) of heavy water with a current stockpile of 125.5 tons (138.34 U.S. tons). As of August 19, Iran's stockpile of low-enriched uranium is at 241.6 kg, well over the JCPOA limit of 202.8 kg. Within that uranium, 216.5 kg is enriched to 3.67 percent and 25.1 kg is enriched to 4.5 percent. As in its previous report, the IAEA said that Iran has installed up to 33 IR-6 centrifuges, a more advanced model, adding that it has tested 11 thus far. 

 An Iranian rocket exploded on a launch pad at the Imam Khomeini Space Center before its scheduled launch. Satellite images from Planet Labs Inc. first revealed smoke rising from the site. An Iranian official acknowledged the explosion, which he said was "due to some technical issues," but gave no additional details. Iranian Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi said in mid-August that Iran was preparing to launch Nahid 1, a telecommunications satellite.

Under pressure from the United States, Iraq is taking steps to reduce its reliance on Iranian energy imports. 30 to 40 percent of Iraq’s power is currently derived from Iranian electricity and natural gas, and gas imports account for approximately 75 percent of that number. The United States has been critical of Iraq for its dependence on Iran, but has given it a series of sanctions waivers to continue buying Iranian energy, the latest of which are up for renewal in October. They are conditioned on Iraq taking steps to reduce its dependence on Iranian energy. In July, Iraq awarded a contract to the U.S. firm Honeywell to increase gas production at the Basra oil fields to 600 million cubic feet. In April, it gave German-based Siemens three contracts totaling $700 million to add power capacity and update existing facilities and distribution networks. Iran agreed to a new electricity deal earlier this year and proposed building an additional power plant in Iraq.

New reports suggest that the Iran-relevant sections of a U.S. State Department arms control compliance report were "softened" from an earlier draft. U.S. officials said that the report originally detailed overseas signals surveillance that revealed Iranian attempts to procure items associated with the development of nuclear weapons and nuclear submarines. The unclassified version released this month only mentions "concerns" about potential Iranian violations of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and cites the nuclear archive Israel seized in Tehran last year. The compliance report is traditionally produced annually by the State Department's Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance (AVC). However, as a result of the controversy over Iran content, this year's report was reassigned to State's Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation (ISN). The report is formally titled "Adherence to and Compliance with Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament Agreements and Commitments."