Rouhani: We Will Enrich Uranium to Whatever Level We Need
Hassan Rouhani announced at a cabinet session that “empty INSTEX” is of no benefit to Iran. Rouhani emphasized that if the remaining parties to the JCPOA fail to comply, Iran will return the Arak reactor to its previous state.
The President of the Islamic Republic of Iran said today, Wednesday, in a cabinet meeting that the country will decide on the level of uranium enrichment commensurate with its own needs. Hassan Rouhani said about the enrichment level: “We will set aside this commitment [3.7 percent enrichment] and increase enrichment to whatever we desire and whatever is necessary and required for us.” Rouhani says his country can return to pre-JCPOA conditions “in an hour.”
Tehran, criticizing the JCPOA parties, has withdrawn from some of its commitments under this agreement. On this basis, this country’s enriched uranium reserves have exceeded the amount specified in the JCPOA.
The Islamic Republic has also announced that if this country’s economic interests are not secured within the framework of the JCPOA, it will return the Arak heavy water reactor to its previous state in the next step. Hassan Rouhani threatened today that if the JCPOA parties do not comply with their commitments under the JCPOA by July 7, the Arak reactor operations will return to previous conditions. July 7 marks the end of the two-month deadline that Iran set for European countries on the anniversary of America’s withdrawal from the JCPOA.
Hassan Rouhani also said today: “Empty INSTEX does us no good.” According to Rouhani, quoted by the news website NewsOnline, the INSTEX matter “is a showpiece measure” and INSTEX “can only be somewhat acceptable if money is involved.”
Rouhani added: “You have a mechanism without money; what use is it? It’s like a bank without money in it, only bearing the name of a bank. Now, you didn’t even give it the name of a bank and said it’s a fund. Even if you put oil money in this and buy our oil and it becomes operational, although what you have done so far is still flawed, we could overlook it.”
