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The head of Iran’s nuclear organization says uranium enrichment is an essential and non-negotiable element of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear industry.
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Uranium enrichment Iran's redline, cornerstone of nuclear industry: AEOI chief
Presstv
6–7 minutes
The head of Iran’s nuclear organization has underlined uranium enrichment as an essential and non-negotiable element of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear industry.
Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), made the remarks during a televised interview, whose contents were published on Monday.
"Enrichment is the foundation and cornerstone of the nuclear industry, and a red line for the Islamic Republic,” he noted.
“No one can tell Iran that it does not have the right to enrich [uranium],” the official said, adding that the imperative “is none of anyone’s concern, and has its own framework and requirements."
The comments concerned the United States, the Israeli regime – Washington’s closest regional ally -- and some other Western officials’ insistence on Iran’s reducing its enrichment levels to “zero.”
Washington has verbalized the demand on multiple occasions, including during its April-present indirect talks with Tehran.
Iranian authorities have, however, unexceptionally ruled out the prospect.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi recently reiterated uranium enrichment’s indispensible role in the country’s peaceful nuclear activities, adding that the Islamic Republic would keep up its peaceful enrichment activities with or without a deal with the US.
‘IAEA report masterminded by West, Israel’
Eslami also addressed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s report on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear activities, expressing dissatisfaction with the document’s political nature and citing Western and Israeli footprints in its development.
He noted that the document had been devised in line with “the same maximum pressure policy” that the United States was leading against the country with the help of its allies.
Eslami identified those involved in pressuring the IAEA into releasing the report as “the United States and the three European countries (the UK, France, and Germany),” namely Washington’s closest European allies.
The Western pressure, he added, had been employed on the agency “under the influence of the Zionist regime [of Israel].”
“Under the same influence and pressure, the agency has released a detailed report, which is a mix of accusations and the same repeated issues from the past.”
The official, meanwhile, noted that the report differed from the agency's previous ones due to its length, which extended to no less than “84 paragraphs.”
Iran’s response
Eslami explained that whenever the IAEA presented a report to the agency’s Board of Governors, Iran would thoroughly review it and submit a detailed and explanatory report of its own.
The response is then shared with all nations through the IAEA's website to ensure global access.
Iran’s report is developed jointly by the AEOI and the Foreign Ministry, the official said, noting that, as in the previous cases, the country came up with its response promptly and without delay.
In their response that was forwarded to the agency earlier this month, the two bodies denounced the document as politically charged and unbalanced.
They argued that the report’s claims lacked credibility and were a continuation of unfounded allegations, reiterating the country’s stance that its nuclear program was peaceful and fully transparent.
The Islamic Republic has also urged that the IAEA maintain neutrality and professionalism in its assessments.
‘Research activities’
Eslami said in the televised interview that, “I cite you a very simple example here. It is like telling a country seeking to create an electricity industry for itself that it can have substations and an electrical grid, but cannot maintain any power stations, namely the source of generating electricity.”
“If you’re supposed not to enrich and run a fuel cycle, you would not be able to carry out [relevant] research activities either.”
“[The very use of] nuclear measuring devices requires a certain foundation and basis, which is rooted in the isotope separation and, in fact, enrichment processes.”
“[The isotope separation and enrichment processes] have to be there [in the first place] so you can develop [your required] products, and render an extensive spectrum of services to your society.”
The Americans, Eslami said, used to come up with the same demands from Iran even before the victory of the country’s Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Back then, Washington conditioned nuclear activity inside Iran to its accepting prerequisite products that would be produced by a France-based consortium, the official said, adding that after development of such body, the same American officials told Tehran that it could not be part of such a European consortium.
According to Eslami, development of the prerequisite products was then assigned to an Iranian-French enterprise.
However, following the enterprise’s jointing the consortium, Iran was faced with prohibitions concerning development of its nuclear industry. The prohibitions have lasted to date, the AEOI chief said, noting that the consortium in question had, therefore, failed to yield any benefit for the country at any time.
Eslami said the report had found fault with Iran’s being the only non-nuclear-armed country that was enriching uranium up to 60-percent purity level.
Nevertheless, the official underlined that not only the peaceful enrichment process had invariably taken place under the IAEA’s supervision, but the country had taken action towards using the resulting uranium for developing its legally-authorized required products.
Tehran has stressed that the body should adopt an equal approach towards all of its members, including the Israeli regime -- a non-signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that possesses an extensive nuclear arsenal, and regularly threatens military aggression against the Islamic Republic’s nuclear facilities.
The head of Iran’s nuclear organization says uranium enrichment is an essential and non-negotiable element of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear industry.
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