TEHRAN (Iran News) – The spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) has said Tehran does not need permission from anyone when it comes to producing advanced centrifuges as he lamented that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is under the influence of the US and its Western allies.
“At the Karaj nuclear facility, we don’t have nuclear material, and that’s why the site is not subject to the Safeguard Agreement. We produce centrifuges there. They say Iran is producing advanced centrifuges in the Karaj facility. Yes, we do not shy away from this fact,” Behrouz Kamalvandi said in an interview with Iran’s official TV on Thursday.
“Thank God, we are able to produce such centrifuges at a high capacity, and we do not get permission from anyone for this,” he said, explaining that Iran is entitled to producing advanced centrifuges without having to endure any limits under Article 4 of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Kamalvandi also criticized the IAEA over its prejudiced approach toward Iran’s civilian nuclear program, saying the United Nations’ nuclear agency is under the influence of major world powers.
Kamalvandi made the remarks days after Rafael Grossi director general of the IAEA visited Tehran in the wake of November 29 Vienna talks aimed at removing U.S. sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Iran and six world powers – the US, Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany – reached a nuclear agreement in 2015 to remove international sanctions against the Islamic Republic in exchange for certain caps on the country’s nuclear program.
Despite repeated reports by the IAEA that certified Iran’s full compliance with the deal – officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – the US unilaterally withdrew from the accord and reinstated harsh economic sanctions.
In recent days, as the world awaits a new round of talks aimed at removing U.S. sanctions and reviving the JCPOA, Iran has called on the IAEA to refrain from politicizing technical matters that could be resolved otherwise.
“It is a fact that the IAEA has not treated Iran as it should,” Kamalvandi said. “We have been constantly pointed this out and issued warnings.”
Nevertheless, he continued, Iran has continued to strive and secure its rights and nullify the world powers’ plots to establish the accusation that Iran was seeking nuclear weapons.
“Of course, they ultimately want to say, ‘because Iran is looking for a nuclear weapon, it must not acquire a nuclear weapon,’” he said, adding that Tehran, despite knowing that the IAEA is under the influence of big powers, will not stop its cooperation with the UN nuclear agency.
In an escalation just a few days before the resumption of the Vienna talks, the U.S. threatened on Thursday to confront Iran at the IAEA next month if it does not cooperate more with the watchdog.
“If Iran’s non-cooperation is not immediately remedied … the Board will have no choice but to reconvene in extraordinary session before the end of this year in order to address the crisis,” U.S. chargé d’affaires in Vienna Louis Bono said at an IAEA Board of Governors meeting.
Bono claimed that Iran “has still not provided the necessary cooperation, even after extensive attempts by the [IAEA] director general to develop a constructive relationship with Iran’s new leadership.”
