Emphasizing the need for accurate implementation of Strategic Action Plan for Lifting Sanctions and protecting the rights of the Iranian people, he stated, “Upon the approval of the new law, the Islamic Republic of Iran initiated enriching uranium with 20% purity with a prior notice to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).”

Under the law approved by the Parliament, “We said from the beginning that if Western countries fail to lift sanctions imposed against the Islamic Republic, IAEA inspectors would be expelled from the country as of Feb. 23 and also Iran will suspend the voluntary implementation of Additional Protocol (AP).”

According to the recommendations of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, both the Parliament and government will interact with each other, he said, adding, “Chairpersons of Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission and Energy Commission are scheduled to hold expert-level meetings with the government and Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) in this respect.”

It is hoped that cooperation between Parliament and government will lead to realizing national interests and materializing sublime advice of Leader of the Islamic Revolution, he added.

Back in December 2020, Iranian legislators passed a law to further accelerate the development of the nuclear program. The law is a firm reaction to Washington’s 2018 withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal – the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – and the illegal sanctions the US has imposed against Iran since then.

To implement the law, Iran stopped the voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and restricted access to the country’s nuclear sites on February 23.

Following the decision, Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency paid an official day-long visit to Tehran and held talks with Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on issues relating to the IAEA’s monitoring of Iran’s nuclear energy program.

Iran and the IAEA then issued a joint statement according to which, the two sides have reached a “temporary bilateral technical understanding.”

According to the statement, Iran said it would stop its voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol to the NPT and would deny IAEA inspectors access to its nuclear facilities beyond the Safeguards Agreement as of February 23, 2021, for three months.

However, it added, “Iran continues to implement fully and without limitation its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA as before.”

Iran and the IAEA have also agreed to a temporary bilateral technical understanding, compatible with the Law, whereby the IAEA will continue with its necessary verification and monitoring activities for up to 3 months (as per a technical annex).

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Jahangiri made the remarks speaking to reporters upon arrival in the northern province of Gorgan.

He said that the plan was passed by the government following a proposal by the Department of Environment.

Jahangiri said that the Government decided to launch Inchebron Free Zone.

The Government plan for launching the new free zone has been approved by the cabinet ministers, he said, however noting that due to a disagreement between the Parliament and the Guardian Council, the Expediency Council has to decide about the plan.

Covering an area of about 400 square kilometers, the Gulf of Gorgan is the largest gulf in the Caspian Sea. It is located at the south-eastern shore of the Caspian Sea near the cities of Behshahr, Gorgan, and Sari and is separated from the main water body by the Miankaleh peninsula and extends until the Ashuradeh peninsula.

Experts on climate change and global warming believe that uncontrolled water withdrawal of aquifers, reduced rainfall, and increased evaporation are the most important reasons for the drying up of Gorgan Bay.

According to the latest scientific data presented by the National Cartographic Center, the drying rate of Gorgan Bay is worrisome.

In July of 2020, a budget of 9 trillion rials (nearly $2.1 million at the official rate of 42,000 rials) was earmarked to revive the Gulf of Gorgan.

The Ports and Maritime Organization, the Department of Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Energy are tasked with taking executive measures to save Gorgan Bay within 5 years.

According to the oceanographic studies, the most important solution to save Gorgan Bay is dredging canals, dredging the rivers leading to the Gulf of Gorgan, and providing water rights of the rivers will be other executive strategies to save the Gulf.

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The decision signed by Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri allowed government departments and municipalities across Iran to issue up to 180 trillion rials of Sukuk, the Islamic sharia-compliant bonds, for the purpose of finishing infrastructure projects until the end of the current calendar year on March 20, 2021, Press TV reported.

Iran’s Interior Ministry would oversee the issuance of around 80 trillion rials (nearly $500 million) worth of securities by municipalities and their subsidiary organizations, said the decree signed by Jahangiri.

It added ministries of oil, industries, and energy would be allowed to issue 35 trillion rials (nearly $218 million) worth of Sukuk bonds for investment in major projects. Oil and gas projects would be prioritized in the plan and the Oil Ministry can issue the securities in foreign currencies, it said.

Government companies, which also include major oil and gas firms operating energy facilities, will be allowed to issue 65 trillion rials (over $400 million) of Sukuk bonds for projects that are justified from “technical, economic, financial and environmental” points of view, said the decree.

Issuing Sukuk bonds has become a popular tool for attracting investments in Iran, especially at a time of a major boom in trade in the country’s stock markets.

Investors prefer the government-backed bonds mainly because of their high yields and the fact that they are concentrated in established industries like energy and mining.

Experts believe the issuance of Sukuk bonds can be key to efforts by the government of Iran to offset economic losses suffered from a series of US sanctions imposed on the country’s direct sale of oil.

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