Tehran Enriching More Uranium than Before JCPOA - Rouhani

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the Islamic Republic is now enriching more uranium than it did before inking the nuclear deal with world powers in 2015, as the remaining signatories of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA] fail to fulfill their commitments.

Addressing the 59th annual meeting of the Central Bank of Iran [CBI] on Thursday, Rouhani said Tehran faces no restrictions today when it comes to atomic energy.

“Today, [uranium] enrichment is carried out more than that time [before the deal was reached] and we did not stand idly by. If they [the other deal parties] reduced their commitments, we did so as well,” Rouhani added.

Rouhani added that when US President Donald Trump chose to pull his country out of the multilateral nuclear deal, Iran remained patient and refused to make the same “mistake.”

Iran, instead, urged the remaining parties to the deal to compensate for Washington’s exit and told them that “if they make up for [the US exit], we would stay in the JCPOA, and if they fail do so, we will, in turn, reduce our commitments,” Rouhani said.

Rouhani said Iran adopted the “right policy and did the right thing,” prompting the entire world — even the Europeans themselves and Trump’s own friends — to condemn the US president’s move as “wrong.”

He added that Tehran proved with the JCPOA that it seeks interaction with the world.

Rouhani once again slammed the US president for violating the deal and unilaterally pulling out of it, saying Trump’s “unpredictable” behavior has caused troubles not only for Iran, but the whole world.

The Iranian chief executive also criticized the US for threatening the European parties to the nuclear deal — France, Britain and Germany — and pushing them to withdraw from the accord.

Rouhani’s remarks came after The Washington Post reported that Trump’s administration had threatened to impose a 25-percent tariff on European automobile imports if the trio — known as EU3 or E3 — refused to formally accuse Iran of violating the JCPOA.