Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 14
By Rahim Zamanov - Trend:
Iran didn't intend to enrich uranium up to 20 per cent in the first place, a member of Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said on Feb. 14. Iran's IRNA News Agency reported.
"We asked the West to provide us with 20-per cent enriched uranium, but they requested some 1,756 kilograms of enriched uranium in return," Esmaeil Kowsari explained.
"The West wanted the deal to be carried out in Turkey, but Iran's supreme leader said that if they were honest, they would do it in Tehran," he said.
"When the West refused to provide us with 20-per cent enriched uranium, Iran started to enrich uranium itself under the order of the Supreme leader," Kowasari noted.
Iran and the P5+1 reached a nuclear agreement on Nov. 24. Iran has agreed to curb some of its nuclear activities for six months in return for sanctions relief. Iran and the P5+1 group have agreed to implement the agreement starting from Jan. 20.
Under the agreement, six major powers agreed to give Iran access to $4.2 billion in revenues blocked overseas if it carries out the deal, which offers sanctions relief in exchange for steps to curb the Iranian nuclear program.
The U.S. and its Western allies suspect Iran of developing a nuclear weapon - something that Iran denies. The Islamic Republic has on numerous occasions stated that it does not seek to develop nuclear weapons, using nuclear energy for medical researches instead.
Edited by C.N.