Iran rules out changes to nuclear accord
TEHRAN: Iran will not accept any changes to the nuclear accord signed in Vienna in 2015, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday.
“Not a single paragraph in the nuclear deal will change, nor will there be any new negotiators... Remarks about this are irrelevant and useless,” he told state television. Rouhani’s comments came in response to calls from the US and European signatories for future talks to address issues including Iran’s Middle East policy and missile programme.
French President Emanuel Macron also called for Saudi Arabia to join negotiations.
Former US president Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear agreement in 2018. Washington introduced a policy of “maximum pressure” to try and renegotiate the agreement and force Tehran to accept tougher conditions.
In response, as of 2019, Iran gradually stopped complying with its obligations under the deal, meant to curb Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for lifting economic sanctions.
The IAEA informed member states this week that Iran has started enriching uranium with a second set of advanced centrifuges that are banned under the nuclear accord. In addition,
Iran has also started installing even more powerful centrifuges, according to the Vienna-based IAEA.
“There’s more to come soon,” Iran’s IAEA envoy Kazem Gharibabadi wrote on Twitter.
New US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he will work with international partners towards a stronger nuclear agreement with Iran.