Iran pursues nuclear activities uninterrupted: source

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
12 Aug 2023 14:02

Nuclear activities are continuing to operate in compliance with the previous plans of the Atomic Energy Organization and the Parliamentary law dubbed the Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions.

An Iranian flag flies in Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant in November 2019, during an official ceremony to kick-start works on a second reactor at the facility (AP)

An informed source told Fars news agency on Saturday that Iran's nuclear operations are still ongoing and pursuing course without interruption.

The source noted that nuclear activities are continuing to operate in compliance with the previous plans of the Atomic Energy Organization.

They are also operating in strict compliance with the Parliament's law, dubbed the Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions.

Approved by the Parliament in December 2020, the law is aimed at countering the illegal sanctions imposed on Iran by the West.

Its entry into force required that the IAEA's routine inspections be restricted and that the country's nuclear program be accelerated beyond normal limits set under the abandoned 2015 nuclear deal.

On Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources, that Iran slowed down its uranium enrichment activities in an effort to resume talks with the US on nuclear-related issues.

According to the report, US officials told Tehran that they were prepared to consider the possibility of resuming talks that were stalled last year on the condition that Tehran takes concrete measures to curtail its nuclear program.

Despite this, Iran still possesses large stocks of 60%-enriched uranium, the report claims, noting that the quantity is large enough to produce two nuclear devices.

Tehran has reiterated several times that its nuclear program is only intended to be used for peaceful purposes and that Iran has no intentions of ever producing a nuclear weapon.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has even issued a fatwa (religious decree) declaring that the acquisition, development, and use of nuclear weapons violated Islamic principles and were therefore forbidden.

Tehran has confirmed that the process of releasing the $6 billion worth of Iranian funds, which have been unlawfully held in South Korea due to US sanctions, is currently in progress.