TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s president warned Monday that any roadmap to restore Tehran’s ailing nuclear deal with world powers must see international inspectors end their investigation into man-made uranium particles found in undeclared sites in the country.
In a rare news conference marking his first year in office, President Ebrahim Raisi also issued threats against Israel and tried to sound optimistic as Iran’s economy and rial have collapsed under the weight of international sanctions.
Despite international attention on the deal as talks in Vienna hang in the balance, it took more than an hour for Raisi to fully acknowledge the ongoing negotiations. Tehran and Washington have exchanged written responses in recent weeks about the finer points of the road map, in which sanctions against Iran would be lifted in exchange for it curbing its rapidly advancing nuclear program.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has for years sought to get Iran to answer questions about man-made uranium particles found at undeclared sites. US intelligence agencies, Western nations and the IAEA have said that Iran carried out an organized nuclear weapons program until 2003. Iran has long denied seeking nuclear weapons.
As a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran is required to explain radioactive traces and provide assurances that they are not being used as part of a nuclear weapons program. Iran was criticized by the IAEA Board of Governors in June for not having answered questions about the sites to the satisfaction of the inspectors.
Raisi mentioned traces, referring to them as a “safeguards” problem using IAEA parlance.
“Without the solution of the safeguard issues, talking about an agreement is meaningless,” Raisi said.
Under the 2015 nuclear deal, Tehran could enrich uranium to 3.67%, while maintaining a 300-kilogram (660-pound) uranium stockpile under constant scrutiny from IAEA surveillance cameras and inspectors. Then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the agreement in 2018, setting the stage for years of rising tensions.
According to the latest public count by the IAEA, Iran has a stockpile of some 3,800 kilograms (8,370 pounds) of enriched uranium. More worrying to non-profiling experts, Iran now enriches uranium to 60% purity, a level it has never reached before and is a short technical step from 90%. Those experts warn that Iran has enough 60% enriched uranium to reprocess it into fuel for at least one nuclear bomb..
Amid the tensions, Israel is suspected of carrying out a series of attacks on Iranian nuclear sites, as well as an outstanding scientist. On Monday, Raisi directly threatened Israel.
Raisi said that if Israel decides to carry out its threats to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, “they will see if there is anything left of the Zionist regime or not.”
At his first press conference, Raisi simply said “no” when asked if he would be meeting with President Joe Biden.. Asked again on Monday when the UN General Assembly looms next month, Raisi stuck to his earlier answer.
“There is no benefit to a meeting between us and him,” the president said. “Neither for the Iranian nation nor for the interests of our great nation.”
___
Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you must be a registered Torstar account holder. If you don’t have a Torstar account yet, you can create one now (it’s free)