Iran to Up Uranium Enrichment Level If JCPOA Benefits Not Guaranteed
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tehran will back off from more commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal and will raise uranium enrichment level if its economic interests under the JCPOA in the oil and banking sectors are not fulfilled within 60 days.
Speaking at a cabinet session on Wednesday, Rouhani said the five remaining parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) -Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany- have been informed of Tehran’s decision to refuse to continue honoring two commitments under the deal.
He said Iran stops selling any enriched uranium above the 300-kg limit in exchange for yellow cake and also stops selling its heavy water above the limit of 130 tons.
The president also announced that the JCPOA parties will have 60 days to come to the negotiating table and fulfill Iran’s main interests under the nuclear deal, especially regarding oil sales and banking interaction.
If Iran does not achieve the desired results after 60 days, it will take two more measures and stop observing the limit on uranium enrichment to 3.67 percent purity, he added.
The president said Iran will also make a new decision about its Arak heavy water reactor –which was planned to be renovated with the participation of the JCPOA parties- after the 60-day deadline.
Rouhani also threatened that Iran will take a “decisive measure” if the JCPOA parties would intend to send Iran’s nuclear case to the UN Security Council.
“We will not start breaching commitments and waging any war, but we will not give in to bullying, either, and will give a decisive response to any aggressor,” the president underlined.
On Wednesday morning, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council decided that Tehran will stop honoring certain commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, which had been already scrapped by the US.
Iran’s announcement comes a year after US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the agreement, which was signed in 2015.
Elsewhere, the Iranian president highlighted Iran’s leading role in the fight against terrorism in the region, from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea and from the Caspian Sea to the Red Sea, noting that if Iran had not fought against terrorism, the terrorists would have acted freely in the European capitals.
Rouhani also underlined that Iran blocked a wave of migrants heading to Europe and hosted millions of refugees, and also acted as a strong front in the war on narcotics.
According to the president, Iran cannot afford the heavy costs of combatting narcotics and addressing the problem of refugees, saying the US measures have disabled Iran from paying billions of dollars in expenses necessary for those plans.
Rouhani underscored that Iran would not pay the costs of the JCPOA alone and that all parties have to bear the burden if the nuclear deal is to serve the global and regional peace and security.
The president threatened the JCPOA parties that Iran will have to halt cooperation in the war on drugs and in preventing the influx of refugees if the other parties stand idle and only seek to benefit from the nuclear agreement.