Salehi:

Iran keen on keeping JCPOA alive, but not at any cost

TEHRAN (defapress) – Iranian nuclear chief Salehi said Wed. that Tehran would like to keep the nuclear deal alive, but not at any cost, referring to Trump’s possible move to walk away from the agreement.

News ID: 66319

Date: 12 October 2017 - 11:33

Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Ali Akbar Salehi, who is in London at the official invitation of UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, spoke to a number of analysts from international press on some important political and global topics related to Iran and the Middle East.

About US President Donald Trump’s decision to decertify the nuclear deal, Salehi deemed any violation of the agreement by Washington to have international consequences, adding "Iran will make appropriate decisions based on what the US government will do.”

"Iran’s stance on the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes has been declared clearly numerous times, and its interpretation of Attachment "T" to the nuclear deal has been stated,” Salehi said.

The paragraph "T" refers to activities that can be used for dual purposes, in the sense that it is both peaceful and can be used for developing nuclear weapons.

"We have never been and will never be after nuclear weapons,” Salehi stressed. "Only the peaceful use of the nuclear energy is what the Islamic Republic of Iran pursues.”

"It has been announced explicitly to European officials that either every side to the deal will remain committed or everyone will withdraw altogether; there is no other way,” Salehi said.

The Iranian nuclear chief then deemed his talks with British officials positive, saying "during the talks, we agreed that every side should make efforts to preserve the nuclear deal. Iran is keen on keeping the nuclear deal, but not at any cost.”

Asked about his prediction of Trump’s decision toward the nuclear deal, he said "the US is going through some kind of political confusion in the sense that even the American authorities do not know what is the best decision to make. And this is not just about the nuclear deal, rather in all other international issues to which the US is committed, the y seem to be thinking about changing their positions toward them.”

He went on to add, "during my meetings with Italian and British officials, I got the feeling that they have been surprised by the emotional and unusual measures taken by the Trump administration, and wish for Washington to go back to making rational choices.”