Ali Shamkhani, the head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, says the report released last week, while problematic, shows that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program.
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The call is contained in a confidential draft resolution prepared for next week’s meeting of the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency and shared Monday with all of those member nations.
While the IAEA delivered the report with several caveats, Iran has said it is proof they can close their probe, thus paving the way for the implementation of a deal with world powers to lift sanctions.
The decision to export low-enriched uranium from Iran to Russian Federation was reached within the framework of the JCPOA. This swap will be done before the end of the year, Russia’s envoy Vladimir Voronkov told reporters in Vienna.
However, the report said, “The Agency’s overall assessment is that a range of activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device were conducted in Iran prior to the end of 2003 as a coordinated effort, and some activities took place after 2003”.
Shamkhani further emphasized that with the release of this report, there is no legal or technical reason not to close the case of past and present issues regarding Iran’s nuclear activities.
For sanctions on Iran to be lifted, the IAEA must first verify that the Islamic Republic has honoured all its commitments under the July deal, including dismantling large numbers of its centrifuges for uranium enrichment and filling parts of its Arak nuclear site with cement.
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The IAEA board of governors is to have an extraordinary meeting on December 15 to approve Director-General Yukiya Amano’s report regarding the controversial aspects of the Iranian nuclear program.
