BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 7. Iran wasted an opportunity in discussions about its nuclear program for nothing, former member of Iranian Parliament Ali Motahari said, Trend reports.
“In the summer of 2022, there was a good opportunity to reach an agreement on Iran's nuclear program - Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The opposite side has also accepted Iran's conditions. Iran later proposed 4 more conditions, the opposite side accepted three and did not accept one. Again, Iran put forward another condition and the opposite side did not accept it either. Later, protests and riots broke out in the country, and the opposite side raised the issue of human rights. The opposite side is no longer interested in an agreement,” Motahari noted.
The ex-MP also added that it is not clear how long Iran will remain under the burden of sanctions, live in unusual conditions, and its funds will remain blocked in some countries. It is impossible to make citizens think that Iran's policies and behavior are correct by simply being a revolutionary (referring to adherence to Iran's Islamic Revolution) and chanting anti-US slogans. Citizens do not accept such issues. Therefore, they may not stand by the state enough.
In January 2016, JCPOA was launched between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China, UK, France, and Germany) in connection with Iran's nuclear program. In May 2018, the US announced its withdrawal from the deal and imposed sanctions on Iran in November of the same year. To preserve the agreements reached as part of the JCPOA, the European signatories of the deal started in January 2019 that a financial mechanism for maintaining trade with Iran called INSTEX was formed.
On May 8, 2019, Iran announced that it had ceased fulfilling its commitments regarding the sale of over 300 kilograms of uranium, as stated in the deal, basing its decision on the other signatories that have not fulfilled their obligations. On July 7, Iran announced that it will not be fulfilling its commitments regarding the enrichment of uranium at 3.67 percent and the reconstruction of the Arak Heavy Water Reactor Facility as stated in the deal.
Iran announced that it will enrich uranium using next-generation centrifuges and will not mix it with the enriched uranium residues as part of the third step of reducing commitments in JCPOA on Sept.5. On Nov. 5, 2019, Iran announced that it took the fourth step in connection with reducing its commitments to the nuclear agreement. So, uranium gas is being pumped to the centrifuges at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant.
On Jan.2020, Iran took the last fifth step in reducing the number of its commitments within JCPOA.
On May 8, 2018, the US announced its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the 5+1 group (Russia, China, the UK, France, the US, and Germany), and imposed new sanctions against Iran as of November 2018.
Over the past period, the sanctions affected Iranian oil exports, more than 700 banks, companies, and individuals. The sanctions have resulted in the freezing of Iranian assets abroad.
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