President Hassan Rouhani says a UN watchdog’s closure of investigations into Iran’s past nuclear activities is a political victory for the country‚ lifting the main obstacle to implementing Tehran’s deal with world powers.
The 35-nation governing board of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed a resolution on Tuesday ending its 12-year-long inquiry into suspicions of “possible military dimensions” to Iran’s nuclear work.
“Now the main obstacle to implement the (July nuclear deal between Iran and six powers) is lifted…Iran will start implementation of the nuclear deal within two or three weeks‚” Rouhani said yesterday.
Rouhani‚ whose election in 2013 led to a diplomatic thaw between Iran and the West‚ voiced hope that sanctions on Iran would be removed in January‚ “delivering one of the electoral promises of the government”.
Rouhani is hurrying to carry out Iran’s side of the deal so as to bring about the removal of sanctions hobbling its oil-based economy before the parliamentary election in February.
To that end‚ Iran is to cut the number of installed uranium-enriching centrifuges to about 6100 from 19000. It must also remove the core of the Arak heavy-water reactor so it cannot produce weapons-grade plutonium.
In a further move meant to reassure that Iran will not illicitly divert nuclear energy to bomb-making‚ much of its stockpile of enriched uranium is to be exchanged for a less refined form of uranium known as yellowcake.
“The yellowcake has arrived in the country and is now in the city of Isfahan‚” Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation head Ali Akbar Salehi said yesterday.
“Iran will ship its enriched uranium from Bushehr port to Russia within the next few days‚” he said.
Only once the IAEA’s inspectors have verified that all the restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme are in effect will international sanctions be rescinded.
The IAEA issued a report this month strongly suggesting that Iran had engaged in coordinated activities aimed at developing a nuclear bomb up until 2003‚ although it found no credible evidence of weapons-related work beyond 2009.
Despite the finding‚ the international response to the report has been muted‚ reflecting a wish to press ahead with an accord that allayed fears of a wider Middle East war over Iran’s nuclear ambitions‚ rather than dwell on its past actions.
Iran‚ keen to export oil freely once sanctions are dismantled‚ has repeatedly said it has enriched uranium only to create an alternative source of electricity.