Iran Focus

London, 26 Aug – A threat was issued by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that Iran could restart its nuclear program in a matter of “hours” if it chose to.

Rouhani’ desires to be seen as a moderate, but this is in contrast with his foreign policy record. The fact is, Rouhani’s tenure has been characterized by an aggressive regional foreign policy, as his regime has sent troops to Syria, involved itself in a civil war in Yemen, and meddled in Iraqi politics. This, while Iran attempts to legitimatize itself as a partner for peace, and as trustworthy in regards to the nuclear deal.

Iran Focus

London, 24 Aug – Following new US sanctions, and Donald Trump’s criticism of the Joint Comprehensive Program of Action (JCPOA), Iran responded by saying that it would be able to start enriching uranium within five days of a dissolution of the landmark nuclear deal.

This doesn’t mean that Iran will be developing a nuclear bomb in a matter of days. Experts estimate Iran’s to ability to develop a nuclear weapon at between six and 12 months.

Additionally, INSS Iran expert Emily Landau, and other experts, believe that Iran’s threat is a sign of continued noncooperation, as the debate about how the US and Israel should view the deal continues.

Iran Focus

London, 24 Aug – On Monday August 22 the (IAEO) made remarks that demonstrate that the regime still plans to acquire nuclear bomb despite the nuclear agreement it reached with the six world powers and the economic and political concessions it received.

Ali Akbar Salehi repeated the threats made by the regime in an interview with state-run network. In the same manner as Javad Zarif, the regime foreign minister, and Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, he emphasized that, “Our highest priority is to preserve Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” as well as, “We worked very hard to achieve JCPOA, and did not achieve it easily to lose it easily.” However, Salehi added, “We are able to resume 20 percent-enrichment in at most five days at Fordow. Maintaining Fordow facility is an advantage of JCPOA.”

Iran Focus

London, 24 Aug – Nikki Haley, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, announced on Tuesday, August 22, that the US wants to know if the United Nations’ Atomic Watchdog is planning to inspect Iran’s military sites to verify that the Iranian Regime is in compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal.

Haley, who met with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) officials in Vienna on Wednesday, asked the question as part of the Donald Trump administration’s review of the agreement between Iran, the US, and five other world powers.

The deal, agreed by President Obama, lifted most sanctions against the Iranian Regime in an effort to curb their nuclear weapons programme but has not worked as well as expected.

Iran Focus

London, 24 Aug – The Iranian Regime has threatened to resume its nuclear programme if the US imposes any further sanctions against them and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps have continued to harass the US Navy in the Persian Gulf, so the 2015 nuclear agreement is looking more and more like a failure by the day.

Donald Trump has already accused the Regime of violating the spirit of the Joint Comprehen¬sive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which lifted sanctions against Iran in favour of curbing their nuclear weapons programme, and the heated exchanges may well lead to a new nuclear-oriented conflict.