No part of Iran’s nuclear program stops: Araqchi

An Iranian nuclear negotiator says no part of Iran’s nuclear energy program stops.

“Nothing gets stopped or dismantled in Iran’s nuclear [energy] program, and everything and every activity will continue in the same state or situation as it has been. It just does not expand,” said Seyyed Abbas Araqchi, who is also Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs, ISNA reported.

Referring to the interim nuclear deal clinched between Iran and the six other countries in Geneva last November, Araqchi said both sides decided “to stay where we are and do not proceed, meaning that they do not ratify any other new sanctions against Iran and, in exchange, we do not develop our nuclear program quantity-wise, just at the same time as the qualitative development of our nuclear program in the area of research and development continues.”

“What we should do, and which is interpreted as a cessation and an about-face, is the suspension of the production of 20-percent enrichment and the changing of our 20-percent-enriched materials to uranium oxide or less-than-five-percent-enriched uranium.”

Iran and the permanent members of the UN Security Council – Russia, China, the US, France, Britain – plus Germany inked the nuclear accord in the Swiss city of Geneva on November 24, 2013. The two sides started implementing the agreement on January 20.

Under the Geneva deal, the six countries undertook to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for the Islamic Republic agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, including a voluntary suspension of its 20-percent uranium enrichment program.