“We cannot abide by the JCPOA and at the same time bear the brunt of US sanctions,” said Ali Akbar Salehi, the Head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, rejecting any possibility of accepting a 'distorted' form of JCPOA imposed by other countries on Iran.
The Iranian nuclear chief made the remarks at a presser early on Tuesday touching upon the yesterday's remarks made by Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
Iranian Leader Ayatollah Khamenei said on Monday that “the West's dream regarding the JCPOA will not come true, and the Iranian nation and government will not tolerate being under sanctions, while limited in the nuclear field." The Leader then called on the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran to make the necessary arrangements to reach production of 190,000 SWU in the framework provided by the JCPOA.
“Yesterday, the Leader issued a decree ordering the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) to carry out some activities and speed up some measures which are within the framework of the JCPOA and not outside of the agreement,” Salehi added.
“Iran’s nuclear activities are peaceful and based on Leader’s Fatwa (religious decree). According to this Fatwa, manufacturing and restoring nuclear weapons is haram (strongly forbidden) for our country and we always consider ourselves abiding by this principle and we will never violate it,” stressed Salehi.
He referred to the Fatwa after reassuring that Iran has always been abiding by the IAEA safeguards agreements even before the JCPOA was put into effect. He added that after signing the JCPOA, Iran even agreed to sign the Additional Protocol and observe the limitations stipulated in the nuclear agreement.
"The principle of abiding by our commitments, as already highlighted by our Leader, has always been of great importance for us at the AEOI," said Salehi.
He underscored that generating electricity from nuclear power and providing fuel for nuclear plants are the two main objectives of the AEOI, adding that industrializing the country's nuclear activities is also of significance to the Atomic Energy Organization.
“Nuclear technology is a dual-use technology. Wherever developed, to the public opinion, it can be used for both peaceful and non-peaceful purposes. We are after a peaceful use of this technology, but unfortunately the West is turning it into a point of weakness for us. This technology can be used in areas of industry, agriculture, and medicine,” stated Salehi.
“The directions issued by President Rouhani, in a letter to the AEOI, are in three areas, including the manufacturing of UF6, a factory for UF4, and the construction of new center for manufacturing centrifuges," he added.
“We are expected to start manufacturing new centrifuges in Natanz by tomorrow,” stated Salehi.
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