Iran has repeatedly tried to develop business contacts in the developed world with the intention of getting equipment and knowledge that could be used to further their nuclear program or even develop weapons of mass destruction, according to intelligence reports from Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands, which all highlighted incidents from 2020.
Yes, despite the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was designed to stop Iran from continuing its nuclear program, Tehran has barrelled ahead, proving what the Resistance said from the start, that the JCPOA was nowhere near comprehensive enough to deal with the Tehran’s malign behaviour.
The German report said that Iran is “making efforts to expand their conventional arsenal of weapons through the production or constant modernization of weapons of mass destruction”, while the Swedish report accuses Tehran of industrial espionage against “Swedish hi-tech industry and Swedish products, which can be used in nuclear weapons programs”.
The Iranian Resistance wrote: “This surely comes as no surprise to the early critics of the deal, who anticipated that it would prompt Iranian authorities to scale back certain nuclear activities that were subject to international scrutiny while stepping up those that would allow the regime to secretly advance its capabilities in other areas.”
But the situation may be worse than expected if we look at comments by the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi, who said in January 2019 that Tehran lied about deactivating the Arak heavy water facility and ensured that the government would be able to quickly ramp up uranium enrichment if needed, which they subsequently did. The problem is compounded by the fact that the International Atomic Energy Agency has not been able to fully monitor the nuclear activity taking place.
So, why, oh why, are the Europeans so keen to restore the deal by getting the US to re-join and drop sanctions on Iran?
The Resistance wrote: “There can be no justification for returning to the JCPOA as written. The US, Britain, France, and Germany must all recognize that the prior enforcement mechanisms were not sufficient for dealing with a regime that has no interest in cooperating with its interlocutors or voluntarily restraining its own behaviour. At every turn, the leadership of the Iranian regime must be compelled to change that behaviour, whether by complying with specified enrichment limits or by accepting snap inspections of all suspected nuclear sites or by halting its procurement efforts in the West.”
On May 12, Reuters wrote that the Iranian regime has enriched uranium to up to 63% purity, according to the IAEA, which is clear breach of its JCPOA obligations.
“Fluctuations” at Iran’s Natanz plant pushed the purity to which it enriched uranium to 63%, higher than the announced 60% that complicated talks to revive its nuclear deal with world powers, a report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog said on Tuesday.” (Reuters, May 12)
Warning the government Mojtaba Zolnour, Chairman of the Parliamentary Security Commission said that the extension of the Agency’s inspection is subject to the opinion of the Parliament or the Supreme National Security Council. Which is a clear sign that the Iranian regime is on the path to cancel and prevent the IAEA’s inspection, to continue its illegal nuclear program without any barriers.
“Araqchi’s statement was wrong, the extension of the inspection and the agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency is not in the hands of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Atomic Energy Organization, this should be done with the opinion of the parliament or within the framework of the law strategic action to lift sanctions, and it is done with the discretion of the Supreme National Security Council.” (Mojtaba Zolnour, May 12, 2021)
