BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 17. Iran continues its nuclear program under the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), said Esmail Baghaei, spokesman for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trend reports.
Speaking at a press conference in Tehran, Baghaei stated that Iran is conducting its activities within the scope of its peaceful nuclear program and emphasized that there are no delays in this regard.
He also addressed reports about potential mediation between Iran and the US via Saudi Arabia, clarifying that such information is purely speculative. He reiterated that Iran will not allow third parties to interfere in the relations between Iran and its neighboring countries.
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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