Two diplomats providing the information Monday demanded anonymity because they weren’t authorized to do so.
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To a question about a recent news item published by the Associated Press with claims on a “confidential document” related to the nuclear deal, Zarif said “all media outlets in the world have not seen the whole document to become fully informed about the achievement brought about by the efforts of our negotiators and industry experts”. But while formally separate from that accord, he said that it was in effect an integral part of the deal and had been approved by the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany, the six powers that negotiated the deal with Tehran.
Iran says its enrichment is peaceful, but the program could be used for nuclear warheads.
While the document is “not public”, it “was closely reviewed by the [powers that negotiated the deal] and Iran” and its content made “available to Congress on multiple occasions – both before the deal was implemented and again once Iran submitted the plan to the IAEA earlier this year”.
The document obtained by the AP fills in the gap.
This document clears up some of that uncertainty: In 2027, 11 years after the deal was made, Iran can replace the old centrifuges with new ones that are five times as efficient, effectively boosting Iran’s uranium enrichment capacity. It says that after a period between 11 to 13 years, Iran can replace its 5,060 inefficient centrifuges with up to 3,500 advanced machines.
Iran also denied the allegations that it sent weapons to Iraq and Yemen, but maintained that testing long-range missiles were a matter of national security and wouldn’t be curbed.
And that time frame could shrink even more.
The French and USA representatives said that the Iranian regime conducted its fourth ballistic missile test since signing the nuclear agreement with the United States and five other world powers past year. But it can be put to use only after the deal expires.
A senior US official noted, however, that the limit on the amount of enriched uranium Iran will be allowed to store will remain at 300 kilograms (660 pounds) for the full 15 years, significantly below the amount needed for a bomb.
These restrictions translate into “serious constraints on”.
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Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said the report contained factual errors and headings in the report referring to “restrictions” on Iranian ballistic missile activities “simply don’t coincide with the subject of the report”. American Ambassador Samantha Power praised the deal for making the world a safer place but said some of Iran’s actions were inconsistent with the Council’s resolution.
