2025 Mar 15, 01:41
Baku, Azerbaijan - Former head of the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, stated that if Iran intends to negotiate with Western countries regarding its nuclear program, it can propose a new approach. He suggested that Iran can base its proposal on enriching uranium to 60 percent and producing certain uranium-related products. However, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), implemented in 2016, specified that uranium enrichment should be limited to 3.67 percent. Falahatpisheh mentioned that 60 percent enriched uranium can be utilized as fuel for submarines. Iran could even contemplate forming a consortium to produce submarine fuel domestically
Nonetheless, given the current conflicts in Russia, Ukraine, and the Middle East, discussions about Iran's nuclear program are currently not the world's primary focus. Therefore, there is little reason to expect the revival of the JCPOA. Recent reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) indicated that Iran's reserves of 60 percent enriched uranium have increased from 6.7 kg to 128 kg. Iran's nuclear program was the central theme of the JCPOA, a deal initially signed by Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China, UK, France, and Germany) on January 16, 2016. However, the US withdrew from the agreement on May 8, 2018, and subsequently imposed additional sanctions on Iran starting November 2018. While Iran asserts that its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes, the IAEA has reported a 27 percent increase in Iran's highly enriched uranium stockpile over the past three months, with a total of 4,745 kilograms
This quantity is 15 times higher than the amount permitted under the JCPOA. Iran has been striving to resume talks with the other parties involved and revive the JCPOA. The primary objectives of Iran include the removal of US and Western-imposed sanctions, access to frozen funds abroad, and the restoration of crude oil exports. Towards the end of 2020, the Iranian parliament decided to implement a strategic plan aimed at countering the sanctions due to the non-implementation of the JCPOA and the imposition of additional sanctions on Iran. As a result, Iran suspended the implementation of additional steps and the additional protocol specified in the nuclear deal, leading to a 20-30 percent reduction in the IAEA's control mechanism. To stay updated on developments, follow the author on Twitter: @BaghishovElnur.