Iran Has ‘Special Surprise’ for Enemies if JCPOA Fails: Nuclear Chief
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi warned that if enemies scrap the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Islamic Republic would deal a heavy blow to them.
“The enemies should know that in case the JCPOA is reversed - even though we are never looking for such a situation - special conditions will arise, and when the high-ranking (Iranian) officials decide, we would have a special surprise for those who scrap the deal,” Salehi said in a speech on Thursday.
“We are seriously seeking to preserve our national interests and sovereignty, but if the US withdraws (from the JCPOA) and Europe and other major powers retreat from this agreement, we would definitely act differently,” he added.
The Iranian nuclear chief further denounced US President Donald Trump as a businessman, who has mixed trade with politics, trying to advance his agendas in the international arena with “his unpredictable decisions”.
The nuclear agreement between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) was reached in July 2015 and came into force in January 2016.
Ever since the deal took effect, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has confirmed Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA in all quarterly reports, but some other parties, especially the US, have failed to live up to their undertakings.
Trump has on various occasions called for renegotiating the JCPOA or terminating it but Iran and most other parties to the deal say the nuclear agreement is a valid multilateral international document that would not be renegotiated.