BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 5. Iran has never pursued the acquisition of nuclear weapon, and it will not do so in the future, Iranian Vice President and Head of the Atomic Energy Organization (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami told reporters, Trend reports.
His comments came in response to US President Donald Trump's recent remarks about preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons following the Cabinet meeting in Tehran on February 5.
Eslami emphasized that Iran’s nuclear program is aimed at peaceful purposes, and the country continues its activities within the framework of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump has signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) aimed at reinstating maximum pressure on Iran, blocking its path to nuclear weapons, and countering its influence abroad. Trump expressed hope that this strategy would not be employed frequently and stated his willingness to engage in talks with the Iranian President.
To note, on January 16, 2016, the JCPOA came into force between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China, the UK, France, and Germany) regarding Iran’s nuclear program. However, on May 8, 2018, the US withdrew 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 on Iran starting from November 2018.
By the end of 2020, the Iranian parliament decided to pursue a strategic plan in the nuclear sector to counter the sanctions, leading to a suspension of additional steps and the Additional Protocol as per the nuclear agreement.
Consequently, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) faced a reduction in monitoring capabilities by 20–30 percent.
Iran has officially affirmed that its strategy is not to pursue the development of an atomic bomb and that it does not support the production of weapons of mass destruction.
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