Foreign
Iran’s President Hassan Rowhani on Thursday warned hardliners in parliament against interfering with the country’s nuclear policy, after legislators passed a controversial bill on the matter.
“Our brothers [in parliament] should not make hasty decisions … let those who know about diplomacy deal with these issues with the needed maturity, calm, and attention,” Rowhani said on state television.
Especially the 2015 Vienna nuclear deal should not become a victim of internal power struggles, Rowhani said.
A bill passed by hardliners on the country’s future nuclear policy has sparked an open dispute between the government and legislators.
Observers say the hardliners want to sabotage future negotiations between Rowhani and U.S. President-elect Joe Biden in order to decrease the chances of moderate forces winning in next year’s presidential election.
“Dear colleagues, it is too soon for electoral campaigning,” Rowhani said.
The law in question foresees that the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency (AEOI) should produce and store 120 kilogrammes of 20 per cent enriched uranium per year.
In the longer term, the supply of low-enriched uranium is to be increased to 500 kilograms per month and faster centrifuges are also to be manufactured.
The politically sensitive part of the law is Iran’s withdrawal from the additional protocol of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which would then also restrict or even prohibit the access to Iran’s nuclear sites by UN inspectors.
The law violates in all respects the Vienna Nuclear Agreement, which was intended to deter Iran from a nuclear weapons programme in return for the lifting of sanctions. (dpa/NAN)
– Dec. 3, 2020 @ 16:03 GMT |
Tags: Iran’s Rowhani warns hardliners not to interfere with nuclear policy
