Following the closing of a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, a senior nuclear official of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Eslami, reiterated that Iran’s nuclear activities remain in compliance with the Safeguards Agreement and the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

In light of newly instated US sanctions targeting shipping and oil industries, Eslami stated that Iran has begun to inject uranium gas into its advanced centrifuge machines of 1,000 units that have been activated to confirm its determination to have sanctions lifted, while going beyond the extra mile to preserve its national interests.

This implementation still conforms to the ‘Strategic Action’ and the safeguarding of national interests, which was ratified by the Parliament in October 2020.

Breach of JCPOA halts functions 

Eslami further noted that the UN nuclear agency’s surveillance cameras recording data beyond the Safeguards Agreement in Iran have been shut down, as they were required to monitor the conditions of Iran’s nuclear program under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which the US unilaterally pulled out from in 2018. 

In consequence, Eslami stated that Iran saw no valid reason to pursue the commitment to something like an obsolete deal. In an exclusive to Al Mayadeen, AEOI spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi stressed that Iran will not reactivate surveillance until the other party ceases its accusations against Tehran and retraces back to fulfilling its commitments.

The US Treasury and State Department imposed sanctions on Monday on six companies, four based in Hong Kong, one in Singapore, and one in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), claiming that the firms have aided Iran in tens of millions of dollars in oil and petrochemical products sold to East Asian countries.