Top Officials Brief MPs on Nuclear-Related Developments

EghtesadOnline: Iran's nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, and Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Sunday briefed lawmakers on the latest developments surrounding the 2015 nuclear deal, according to MPs.

News ID: ۷۴۸۲۰۹

19 August 2019

Lawmaker Mehrdad Lahooti quoted Araqchi as saying that Iran will remain in the nuclear agreement as long as it serves its interests, the Iranian Diplomacy website reported.

"The deputy foreign minister said the Foreign Ministry is making every effort to thwart American plots and has prepared plans to prevent the United States from building a coalition against Iran and these efforts have been successful so far," the parliamentarian said.

According to the lawmaker, Araqchi also said Iran will give a proportionate response to any act of aggression, Financial Tribune reported.

Tensions between Iran and the US have ratcheted up since last year, when US President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal, contending it was not strong enough.

The United States reimposed sanctions on Iran in November and later ended sanctions waivers given to major importers of Iranian oil, aiming to cut the OPEC producer's sales to zero.

Lahooti said ways of selling oil, despite US sanctions, were discussed during the meeting with Araqchi, Iran's top nuclear negotiator.

Tehran's main demand in talks aimed at salvaging the nuclear deal is to be able to sell its oil at the same level that it did before Washington withdrew from the accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Reciprocal Plan

Lawmaker Hossein Naqavi-Hosseini said the meeting with Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, centered on the country's decision to gradually scale back its nuclear commitments in response to US sanctions and Europe's failure to uphold its end of the bargain.

In the first two phases, Iran reduced its compliance with the deal by having more than 130 tons of heavy water and more than 300 kilograms of enriched uranium. It has also raised the level of uranium enrichment beyond the 3.67% set in the pact, but says all such moves are reversible.

Naqavi-Hosseini cited Salehi as saying that the country's enriched uranium stockpile has now reached 370 kilograms.

Research and development have been carried out on IR6 and IR7 centrifuges and work on IR8 advanced centrifuges is on the agenda, the nuclear official said, according to the lawmaker.

Naqavi-Hosseini said 20 IR6 centrifuges have been assembled at a new modern unit designed for this purpose, adding that Iran could further ramp up its civilian nuclear activities, if necessary.

Salehi told the meeting that the Leader's instructions pertaining to the atomic organization have been implemented.

The parliamentarian also quoted the nuclear chief as saying that Iran has so far managed to prevent the formation of a global political coalition against the Islamic Republic and all countries acknowledge Iran's power.