With or Without JCPOA, Iran to Proceed with Nuclear Progress: President
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) would not impede Iran’s nuclear progress, President Hassan Rouhani said Monday, underscoring that neither the life of Iranians nor the country’s nuclear industry depends on the existence of the nuclear deal.
“We have made the necessary arrangements. Whether or not the JCPOA exists, whether or not it includes Europe, or (under) any other situation, there will be no problem created for the nuclear technology (of Iran) or the life of people,” President Rouhani said on Monday.
He made the comments in a ceremony in Tehran, held to mark the National Nuclear Technology Day, after inaugurating a number of homegrown nuclear projects.
The president further reiterated that Iran will never violate the JCPOA -the nuclear agreement with the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany)- but reminded other parties that “they would regret it” in case of any breach of the deal and see the outcome of Iran’s readiness in less than a week.
Violators of the deal will have to pay the price for a breach, Rouhani warned.
“The JCPOA would not slow down our progress,” he underscored, saying the agreement has promoted Iran’s nuclear cooperation with Europe, Russia and China.
Playing down his US counterpart’s threat to scrap the JCPOA, Rouhani said the foundation of the nuclear accord is so firm that constant pressures from the US over the past 15 months have failed to harm it.
On Monday, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) unveiled 83 homegrown achievements in the nuclear industry, including the process of transferring the first shipment of yellow cake (a type of uranium concentrate powder) from a factory in the city of Ardakan to a Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) in Isfahan.
In recent years, Iranian scientists have made remarkable progress in the field of peaceful nuclear technology despite sanctions imposed by the West.
It is the 12th year Iran is celebrating a national day to mark its achievements in the nuclear industry.
This year’s ceremony comes after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in February reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to the JCPOA for the tenth time.