Taking "confidence-building" measures, Iran has indicated its resolve to honor its commitments under the recent international nuclear deal, and now is the time for major powers to fulfill their pledges by taking action to lift sanctions to display their "goodwill" to the international community, the nuclear chief said.
Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, made the statement addressing the 59th Annual Regular Session of the International Atomic Energy Agency General Conference in Vienna on Monday, IRNA reported.
The illegitimacy of any effort to develop nuclear arms in Iran is based on the Leader of the Islamic Revolution's fatwa (religious decree) banning such weapons, Salehi noted. "Deploying and building weapons of mass destruction do not and will not reconcile with the principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran."
According to Salehi, the nuclear accord signed between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany) conveys the message that neither sanctions nor military threats can affect Iran's determination to defend its right to access nuclear energy for peaceful applications.
The Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the deal is officially titled, is an opportunity to put an end to a "manufactured crisis" lingering for over a decade to sideline Iran, the AEOI chief said.
"The roadmap signed by Iran and the IAEA on July 14 concurrently with finalizing the JCPOA was another indication of Iran's tenacity to settle the pending nuclear issues," the official stressed.
Appreciating the IAEA's technical cooperation with Iran to launch the Bushehr nuclear power plant and enforce the relevant international safety standards, Salehi denounced cyber attacks on nuclear facilities and expressed concern over the possible leak of confidential information disclosed to the IAEA.
A tripartite meeting was held on the sidelines of the conference between nuclear officials of Iran, China and the US to exchange views on JCPOA-related issues.
Redesigning the Arak heavy water reactor as part of the accord was one of the key topics which came up for discussion. In his recent trip to China, Salehi held talks with Chinese officials on the project to redesign the reactor.
