Nuclear blackmailing: Iran unveils new generation of centrifuges

Islam Mohamed

Iran continues to blackmail Western countries with the aim of getting more concessions in its bid to escape the US sanctions that have so far exhausted the Iranian economy.

Provocation

According to the Iranian news agency, ISNA, Iran will declare the production of IR-6 centrifuges in its bid to cut down on its commitment to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran has been reducing commitment to the deal in reaction to US sanctions on it.

ISNA said Iran will increase centrifuges at the Natanz hardened fuel enrichment plant and exceed the limit specified in the 2015 nuclear, namely this of 5,060 older-model IR-1 centrifuges.

The news agency added that the amount of enriched uranium in Iran’s possession, namely 4.5%, had increased to 25 kilograms, which violates the deal.

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said his country would unveil its third measure to reduce commitment to the deal.

Iran, he said, would keep the door open for diplomacy, but its third step is ready.

He noted that Iranian president Hassan Rouhani would declare this step on Wednesday.

Europe

In an interview with the Russian channel, Russia-24, Zarif said he would notify High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini, about the new step. He revealed that his country would start taking this step on Friday.

Zarif said earlier that Iran had agreed with the Europeans on moving ahead with honoring the nuclear deal.

Nevertheless, he said, Iran would continue to be ready to backpedal on horning the deal.

Rouhani, meanwhile, told the members of the Iranian parliament that the US keeps sending messages to his country, after it made sure that its hard line policy on Iran would not pay off.

“The US keeps sending messages after being disappointed at its policies,” Rouhani said.

He added that his country had not taken a decision to start negotiations with the US and that it had rejected its request for dialogue.

The Iranian president noted that the resistance policy pursued by his country with the US had made successes.

He added that the US had been isolated by its policies toward Iran, not the contrast.

Blackmailing

Iranian affairs specialist Mohamed Abadi accused Iran of blackmailing the Europeans.

Iran, he said, wants to force the Europeans to offer economic concessions to convince it to keep abiding by the nuclear deal.

He told The Reference that US sanctions on Iran would unlikely be lifted before Tehran sits on the negotiating table.

“Iran takes escalatory measures only to improve its negotiating position,” he said.