The Iranian government responded on September 12 that it is willing to collaborate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to resume the historic nuclear agreement reached with the powers in 2015. However, it urged the agency “not to give in to pressure From Israel”. The statement comes after the government of Yair Lapid once again attacked the pact and the IAEA pointed out doubts about Tehran’s commitment to save the plan that stops its nuclear program.
Iran agrees to cooperate with the IAEA, but urges it not to give in to Israeli pressure.
“We are ready to cooperate with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), but in addition to commitments we have rights. The agency must commit to a mandate free from pressure, including from Israel,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Naser Kananí told a news conference.
The statements came on Monday, September 12, just after the Israeli Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, assured that it is necessary to take joint measures to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Lapid added that “returning to the agreement in the current conditions would be a mistake.” From the start, Israel has opposed the deal, claiming that limitations on Iran’s nuclear enrichment would expire and that the document did not address Tehran’s ballistic missile program or military activities in the region.
“Iran as a nuclear power would endanger the world,” Lapid remarked in the last few hours in the midst of his meeting in Berlin with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, whose country is a signatory to the agreement along with other powers.
For its part, Germany regretted that so far the government of President Ebrahim Raisi has not responded positively to European proposals to resume application of the historic document, even after six months of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington.
“We agree with Israel that Iran cannot obtain nuclear weapons… I regret that Iran has so far failed to give a positive response to the European coordinator’s suggestions,” Scholz said.
Concerns rise after last Wednesday, September 7, the IAEA pointed out that Iran increased in three months, by a third, up to 55.6 kilos, its 60% enriched uranium reserves. A purity of 90% is required to make an atomic weapon.
IAEA expects credible answers from Iran after finding traces of uranium
Not only Israel shows its reluctance to Iran’s commitments, the IAEA itself and several powers indicate doubts.
Tehran’s response on Monday, expressing its intention to cooperate with the watchdog, coincided with the IAEA Board of Governors meeting to assess the situation. The meeting took place three months after adopting a resolution urging the Islamic Republic to provide credible answers to the agency’s investigations into uranium traces.
Western nations accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, but Iran maintains that its nuclear program is peaceful and that the IAEA’s investigations are politically motivated.
Iranian spokesman Naser Kananí warned that his country’s future guidelines would be “based on what happened at that UN agency meeting.
“Any repetition of unconstructive measures will lead to unconstructive results,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Kananí thus referred to the resolution that the Board approved last June, in which he reproached Tehran for its lack of transparency about traces of uranium found in three places that Iran had not declared.
At that time the Iranian authorities responded by turning off some 40 surveillance cameras that were installed to verify compliance with the pact.
This September 12, the Iranian official accused Israel of “playing a destructive role in the negotiations to save the JCPOA (acronym in English for the nuclear agreement)” and said that he expects the United States and the European Union to act in a “constructive” way. to reach an agreement.
His words come after last Saturday, September 10, France, the United Kingdom and Germany questioned the commitment that Tehran says it has to reach a consensus. The powers indicated that they have “serious doubts”, comments that were rejected by the Raisi government and its strategic ally, Russia, described them as “very inopportune”.
Earlier this month, Iran sent its latest response to the EU’s proposed text, but its reply was unconvincing. Western diplomats said it was a setback, as Tehran seeks to link the revival of the deal with the closure of IAEA investigations into the latest findings.
The breaches of the agreement have been notorious since 2018, when the then president of the United States, Donald Trump, unilaterally withdrew his country from the pact and resumed economic sanctions against Iran, precisely the condition imposed by that government to curb its nuclear program. . The plan fell apart, the Islamic republic responded with progressive increases in the enrichment of the chemical element.
Talks to reactivate the agreement have resumed, but so far without success.
Iran threatens Israel with a ‘suicide drone’
Amid the tensions, Iran threatened to directly attack Israel’s territory.
The head of Iran’s ground forces, Brigadier General Kiomars Heidari, assured on Monday, September 12, that Tehran has developed an advanced long-range “suicide drone” “designed to attack Tel Aviv and Haifa, in Israel.”
The new drone is an upgrade of the Arash 1, unveiled in 2019 and capable of a 2,000-kilometer flight, Tehran said.
Should he carry out his threats, he would cause a disaster of enormous magnitude. The Israeli response would be imminent.
Israel, believed to have the only nuclear weapons in the Middle East and which sees Iran as an existential threat, has already said it would attack Iranian nuclear sites if diplomacy fails to contain Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.
The director of the Israeli espionage service -the Mossad-, David Barnea, responded to the threats from Iran.
“The Iranian top level must be aware that resorting to force against Israel or the Israelis, directly from Iran or through proxies, will meet with a painful response against those responsible on Iranian soil,” Barnea said in a speech at Reichman University, near Tel-Aviv.
With Reuters and EFE
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