Iranian MPs to Visit Bushehr Nuclear Plant in Coming Days


TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Members of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission plan to pay a visit to the nuclear power plant near the southern port city of Bushehr in coming days, a member of the commission said.

Speaking to Tasnim, Abolfazl Hassanbeigi said according to schedule, the parliamentary commission team’s trip to the Bushehr nuclear site is slated to be made in coming days but the exact time has not been decided yet.

The visit is in line with Iran’s steps to reduce its nuclear commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), he added.

According to a decision made by the commission’s presiding board, a report of the visits to the nuclear facilities will be prepared and presented to the presiding board of the parliament, the MP stated.

Earlier this month, AEOI Spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi announced details of the country’s “third step” in reducing commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal.

He said the reduction of JCPOA commitments related to research and development will facilitate the enrichment of uranium up to a level of 1,000,000 SWU.

Back in July, Iran had declared the second step to reduce its commitments by ramping up the level of uranium enrichment to over 3.67 percent.

Iran maintains that the new measures are not designed to harm the nuclear deal but to save the accord by creating a balance in the commitments.

Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14, 2015, reached a conclusion over the text of the JCPOA.

The accord took effect in January 2016 and was supposed to terminate all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran all at once, but its implementation was hampered by the US policies and its eventual withdrawal from the deal.

On May 8, 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the nuclear accord.

Following the US withdrawal, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the deal.

However, the EU’s failure to ensure Iran’s economic interests forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments, including an unlimited rise in the stockpile of enriched uranium.

Kamalvandi recently said that the country’s enriched uranium stockpile has reached 360 to 370 kilograms.