Iran Rules Out ‘Zero Enrichment’

Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi scorned the US request for “zero enrichment” of uranium in Iran, slamming it as a repetition of Washington’s past mistakes.

News ID: 70872

Date: 23 June 2018 - 11:51

TEHRAN (Defapress) – Addressing an expert panel held on the sidelines of the Oslo Forum in the presence of Norwegian and Omani foreign ministers on Friday, Salehi said the nuclear negotiations between Iran and world powers that led to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal had initially begun on condition that the US abandon the notion of zero enrichment.

He also warned that the Middle East and the entire world will face a “dreadful” future if the nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), collapses.

Slamming the US administration’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal, Salehi said the international community showed a severe reaction to Washington’s “unwise and baseless” decisions.

“If the European Union and other countries supporting the JCPOA do not demonstrate their practical opposition to the US policies in due time, they will face a dreadful future and unprecedented insecurity in the region and the world because of the JCPOA’s collapse,” he added.

On May 8, the US president pulled his country out of the JCPOA, which was achieved in Vienna in 2015 after years of negotiations among Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).

Following the US exit, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the accord.

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