BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 19. The development of Iran's nuclear industry has created additional power for the country, over the past years, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said after getting acquainted with the Exhibition of Achievements of Iran's Nuclear Industry in Tehran on June 18, 2023, Trend reports.
The president emphasized that some in the world imagine that power comes from the production of nuclear weapons. However, Iran has repeatedly announced that despite the country having such a potential, it will never pursue the production of nuclear weapons based on its religious beliefs and the instructions of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Raisi added that achievements in the nuclear industry should be directed to other industries, especially the automotive industry, so that other industries can also develop.
He also noted that the nuclear industry, technology and its products have significant impacts in the health and medical, agricultural, industrial, and oil and gas sectors.
As reported, Iran discloses various programs related to its nuclear industry to reflect that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. However, according to the information obtained by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran has increased the amount of highly enriched uranium by 27 percent in the last three months, and currently the country's enriched uranium reserves are 4,745 kilograms. This is 15 times more than the amount of uranium allowed for Iran in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
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.
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