Iran has the technical competence to manufacture an atomic bomb but does not incline to do so, according to Mohammad Eslami, the head of the country’s atomic energy organization, as quoted by the semi-official Fars news agency on Monday.
In July, Eslami echoed remarks made by Kamal Kharrazi, a top adviser of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Kharrazi’s comments amounted to a rare hint that the Islamic Republic may have an interest in nuclear weapons, something it has consistently denied.
“As mentioned by Mr. Kharrazi, Iran has the technological capability to construct an atomic weapon, but such a program is not on the agenda,” stated Eslami.
Iran is currently enriching uranium to a level of up to 60 percent fissile purity, significantly above the 3.67 percent fissile purity limit imposed by the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and Western powers. 90%-enriched uranium is suitable for use in nuclear weapons.
In exchange for respite from international economic sanctions, Iran halted its uranium enrichment activity, a potential pathway to nuclear weapons, under the terms of a nuclear accord that Trump abandoned in 2018.
The senior Iranian nuclear negotiator stated on Sunday that Iran has replied to Josep Borrell’s proposal to salvage the nuclear pact and desires a speedy finish to negotiations.
Borrell stated that he has presented a new draught text to revitalize the agreement.
“After exchanging communications last week and reviewing the suggested documents, it is possible that we would be able to determine the scheduling of a new round of nuclear negotiations shortly,” said Nasser Kanaani, spokesman for the Iranian foreign ministry.
In March, after 11 months of indirect negotiations in Vienna between Tehran and the administration of US President Joe Biden, the fundamental outlines of a revitalized agreement were reached.
However, negotiations eventually broke down due to difficulties, notably Tehran’s demand that Washington provide assurances that no future US president will exit the agreement in the same manner as Trump.
The nuclear agreement is a non-binding political understanding, not a legally binding treaty, so Biden cannot make this pledge.
