Tabnak – As Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is due to meet his Russian and European counterparts this week to discuss the nuclear deal, Iranian officials warn about any possible violation of the deal by the other side. This comes at a time that the US is showing signs of willingness to further violate its commitments under the deal.
In this vein, an Iranian nuclear official says Iran is capable of multiplying the pace of its nuclear activities — especially uranium enrichment — compared to the time when an international deal on its nuclear program had not yet been concluded, implying that it will happen if the United States violates the deal.
Behrouz Kamalvandi, who is the spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), said on Wednesday that the body had reported to the country’s highest authorities about its capacity to increase the pace of nuclear activities to several times the speed at which they were underway prior to the deal.
Kamalvandi said if the US sanctions waivers are not extended, Iran “will naturally take necessary measures.” While he did not link potential increased Iranian nuclear activity to the US violation of the deal, that seemed to be the message of his Wednesday remarks.
In the same vein, Iran's nuclear chief on Teusday advised European countries not to follow suit with US President Donald Trump’s position on multilateral 2015 nuclear deal, warning that disagreement with Iran will not be beneficial to European countries.
Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi made the remarks in a meeting with former British foreign secretary, Jack Straw, in Tehran on Tuesday, reminding Straw of the first round of nuclear talks between Iran and the European troika, including the UK, France, and Germany.
“In view of your experiences with respect to the first round of nuclear talks between three European countries and Iran, you are well aware that lack of agreement with Iran, as was the case in the past, will certainly not benefit you,” Salehi added.
A day before, on Monday, Salehi said Islamic Republic may reconsider its cooperation with the UN nuclear agency in case of a US non-compliance with the landmark multilateral nuclear agreement reached between Iran and the P5+1 group of countries in 2015.
He made the remarks in a phone conversation with Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano. "If the United States does not implement its commitments under the JCPOA, the Islamic Republic of Iran will take decisions that can affect its current cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency," Salehi told Amano.
It should be noted that under the nuclear deal, Iran undertook to apply certain limits to its nuclear program in exchange for the termination of all nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran.
The IAEA, which is the official institution to verify Iranian compliance, has consistently confirmed Iranian commitment to its contractual obligations.
