Fereydoun Abbasi insisted that Iran’s negotiators must remain focused on the removal of the main sanctions in the Vienna talks.

In an exclusive interview with the Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency (ICANA), Abbasi, a nuclear physicist, said that using the phrase “civilian nuclear activity” is a deception because Iran didn’t and doesn’t have nuclear activity of military nature.

He made the remarks in response to the recent sanctions waiver related to Iran’s peaceful nuclear activity by the administration of Joe Biden.

“The sanctions related to the Bushehr reactor are unclear. Why should this reactor have been sanctioned? Iran and Russia had a contract for this reactor. Western countries, particularly Germany, didn’t fulfill their commitments toward the Bushehr reactor in line with the will of the U.S. while there wasn’t any unclear point in the contract between Iran and Russia,” MP stated.

He also said that the Arak reactor was a heavy water one that has been transformed in accordance with the Americans’ demand. The lawmaker wondered why the Americans didn’t remove sanctions on this reactor in 2016 while it had been modified according to their demand.

The MP, who was the chief of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) from 2011 to 2013, added, “The Tehran research reactor had been built by Americans and after the Islamic revolution of Iran they prevented other countries from delivering fuel to the reactor. Now what has happened that they removed the sanctions on the Tehran reactor?”

The member of the parliament’s Energy Committee said such a waiver is of no value. “Our negotiating team must focus on lifting the main sanctions, all sanctions must be lifted in accordance with what they promised in the JCPOA. Exemption from sanctions on civilian nuclear activity is more of a propaganda hoax,” the lawmaker said.

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The United States on Wednesday ended sanctions waivers for nuclear cooperation between Iran and the remaining signatories of the landmark nuclear deal, from which the US withdrew in 2018.

The waivers had allowed Russian, Chinese, and European companies to carry out work at Iranian nuclear sites. The role of the foreign firms was agreed on in Iran’s nuclear agreement.

“The ending of waivers for nuclear cooperation under (the nuclear deal) will not in practice have any effect on Iran’s work,” AEOI spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said. “Of course, America wants its actions to have an effect in line with pressure on Iran, but in practice, nothing will happen.”

Pulling the final plug

Iran’s Ambassador to the UN Majid Takht-Ravanchi lashed out at the US for imposing penalties on the other countries for compliance with UN Security Council resolutions and said the desperate US move to end the sanctions waivers pulled the final plug on the nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Russia and the European Union also condemned the US move.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Thursday criticized the US for undermining international security by deciding to end waivers on Iran sanctions and withdraw from a number of international treaties, including a recent one pertaining to unarmed surveillance flights.

US actions becoming more dangerous

“The nature of this behavior is clearly disruptive,” Zakharova told reporters, adding, “Washington’s actions are becoming more and more dangerous and unpredictable.”

The European Union’s foreign policy chief also on Thursday condemned Washington’s move.

Addressing a UN Security Council meeting, Josep Borrell highlighted the “enduring importance” of the nuclear deal, saying, “The agreement remains the best and only way to ensure the peaceful nature of the Iranian nuclear program.”

Under the 2015 nuclear agreement, Iran agreed to put limits on its peaceful nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018 and has since reimposed the sanctions. In reaction, Iran has scaled back its commitments under the deal but says it still abides by its overall terms.

The waivers, which officials said expire on July 27, covered the conversion of Iran’s Arak heavy water research reactor, the provision of enriched uranium for its Tehran Research Reactor, and the transfer of spent and scrap reactor fuel abroad.

Waivers that permitted work at the Arak heavy water plant and the Tehran Research Reactor had been in place until now. A waiver for work at the Bushehr nuclear power station will be the only one extended.

Sanctions on nuclear scientists

Also on Wednesday, the US imposed sanctions on two officials with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Majid Agha’i and Amjad Sazgar.

In a series of tweets on Friday, the AEOI condemned the White House decision-makers’ move, saying that the decision depicts the “hostile approach” of the US government.

Such moves “will not interrupt the will and determination” of the Iranian nation to achieve the country’s far-reaching objectives, it added.

It warned that such moves will result in the further progress of Iranian research and further weakening of Iran’s adversaries in the global arena.

“Good news regarding the Islamic Republic of Iran’s nuclear industry is on the way,” the AEOI added.

Reuters, AP, and Press TV contributed to this story.

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