US sanctions have failed to hamper Iran’s progress in the field of nuclear technology, President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday, pledging that the country will not change course under foreign pressure.
Rouhani made the comments at a ceremony held in Tehran to mark National Nuclear Technology Day, during which 114 achievements related to centrifuge technology, nuclear medicine and power plants were unveiled, the Presidential Office’s website reported.
“You are completely mistaken if you think you can prevent Iran from making progress in the area of nuclear technology,” he told the Americans.
Relations between Tehran and Washington took a turn for the worse last year after US President Donald Trump pulled out of a nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers and reimposed energy, financial and industrial sanctions on the country, including on its oil exports—the lifeblood of Iranian economy.
The restoration of sanctions is part of a wider effort by the Trump administration to force Tehran to further curb its nuclear and missile programs and alter its regional policies.
However, Rouhani said the latest nuclear achievements is proof that sanctions have not been able to slow down the country’s development in this field.
“You were afraid of the IR1 centrifuge model, but today we began [installing] a chain of 20 IR6 [centrifuges]. And if you do not change your hostile approach, you will see us [using] IR8 [centrifuges] in the near future,” he said, addressing US officials.
Advanced Centrifuges
Rouhani on Tuesday ordered the installation of a chain of 20 advanced IR6 centrifuges at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in central Iran, which are more efficient than the previous models.
In a speech at the ceremony, Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said the installation of IR6 machines could pave the way for conducting subsequent tests, Tasnim News Agency reported.
Salehi noted that Iran will continue to advance its nuclear program within the framework of the 2015 nuclear agreement, adding that US unilateral sanctions and animosity have failed and will fail to undermine Iranians’ determination to pursue their civilian nuclear technology policy.
Echoing a similar view, Rouhani hailed domestic progress in science and technology.
“Sanctions have also not had their intended effect of deterring Iran’s missile program,” he said, adding that the country has succeeded in producing advanced weapons and military equipment, and bolstering its defense power much to the chagrin of ill-wishers.
Rouhani warned the remaining signatories to the nuclear accord that Iran’s patience is running thin on their pledges to help salvage the deal and offset the US pullout.
“Fulfill your commitments. We have been patient and will continue to be patient, but our patience has a limit,” he said.
The remaining participants in the nuclear agreement have been trying to keep it alive, and Britain, France and Germany set up in January a mechanism to allow trade with Tehran and circumvent US sanctions. But Iran has criticized the EU for failing to fully honor its pledges to protect bilateral trade.
