Nuclear effort could restart, leader warns
TEHRAN — Iran’s nuclear program could be restarted in a matter of “hours,” if the U.S. government imposes further sanctions on Tehran, the country’s president, Hassan Rouhani, said Tuesday.
Rouhani said that a reconstituted nuclear program would be “far more advanced,” a veiled threat that the country could start enriching uranium up to the level of 20 percent, a step toward building a nuclear weapon. Such enrichment activities were a major concern before 2015, when Tehran signed a landmark agreement with the United States and other world powers that lifted crippling economic sanctions in return for severe limits on Iran’s nuclear activities.
President Trump has repeatedly called the nuclear deal a “disaster,” said that he believes the Iranians are violating its terms, and twice called for reviews, in hopes of finding reasons to kill it.
The other parties to the nuclear deal — Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia — disagree with Trump, saying that Iran is not in violation of the pact, which is overseen by the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.
New sanctions approved by Congress this month penalized Iran for its ballistic missile program and other activities in the region. Iran says that it has the right to conduct missile tests and that it has fully complied with the provisions of the nuclear agreement.
While Rouhani was re-elected this year, he has faced increasing pressure from hardliners, who have said all along that the United States is not to be trusted and would never deliver on its promises. The economic benefits Rouhani promised from the signing of the nuclear deal have not been completely realized, largely because of unilateral U.S. sanctions that have deterred much foreign investment.
Trump’s threats to withdraw from the nuclear agreement have added weight to the hard-liners’ arguments, putting Rouhani ever more on the defensive and weakening him politically. On Monday, for example, conservatives were able to tighten their grip on the Expediency Council, one of Iran’s most influential oversight bodies.
Rouhani warned the Trump administration that Iran could react quickly if further sanctions were confirmed. “The new U.S. officials should know that the failed experience of sanctions and coercion compelled their previous governments to eventually come to the negotiation table,” Rouhani said. Thomas Erdbrink is a New York Times writer.