Iran to Take 4th Nuclear Step Tomorrow: Rouhani
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that in reaction to the continued failure of the European parties to meet their obligations to the 2015 nuclear deal, the Islamic Republic on Wednesday would take the 4th step in reducing its commitments under the agreement.
Taking the fourth step to scale back Iran’s obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) will begin tomorrow, Rouhani said in a speech on Tuesday.
“Of course, we are already announcing to the Group 4+1 (Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany) and the friendly countries in the world that our new activity will be monitored by the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency),” he said.
“The 4th step, like the three previous steps, is reversible and whenever they (the other parties) fulfill their obligations, we will go back (to our commitments),” the president went on to say.
The fourth step will be taken tomorrow at the Fordow nuclear site, Rouhani said, adding that Iran has 1044 centrifuges at Fordow, which were supposed to rotate without gas according to the JCPOA but gas will be injected into them tomorrow.
In remarks last month, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said Iran will continue to reduce the JCPOA commitments until it gets the desirable results.
“Reduction of the nuclear commitments, which is a responsibility of the Atomic Energy Organization (of Iran), must continue with full seriousness and in a precise and comprehensive manner, as announced by the administration, until it achieves the appropriate result, and it will definitely yield results,” the Leader said.
In May 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the JCPOA.
Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the JCPOA after the US withdrawal, but the three EU parties to the deal (France, Britain, and Germany) have failed to ensure Iran’s economic interests.
The EU’s inaction forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments to the nuclear deal, including a rise in the stockpile of enriched uranium.
Iran maintains that the new measures are not designed to harm the JCPOA but to save the accord by creating a balance in the commitments.