The spokesman for Atomic Energy Organization of Iran [AEOI], Behrouz Kamalvandi, said on Saturday that Tehran may reject the modernization of the heavy water reactor in Arak.
Earlier, Iran’s Vice President and head of organization Ali Akbar Salehi said that the Arak heavy water nuclear reactor will resume its operation.
“If steps [on the Iran nuclear deal] are not taken quickly from the opposite side, which is engaged in the modernization of the reactor, we will return to the previous type of reactor,” Kamalvandi said during a press conference broadcast by Iranian television.
Iran scrapped plans to turn Fordow nuclear site into research center, Behrouz Kamalvandi said.
IAEA inspectors will check enriched uranium samples at Iran’s Fordow facility on 10 November, he added.
Tehran has scrapped plans to transform Fordow facility into an international nuclear and physical center, the spokesman added.
“In fact, we can say that we have abandoned a number of clauses of the JCPOA, including the 44th, which stipulates that Fordow should be transformed into an international nuclear and physical center,” Kamalvandi said.
One year after the US abrupt withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA], Tehran announced its decision to suspend some of the obligations under the agreement, including the reconstruction of the modernized Arak nuclear reactor for civil purposes.
In September, Iran started the third stage of rolling back nuclear obligations under the JCPOA. The gradual reduction of nuclear obligation was announced on the first anniversary of the US unilateral pullout from the 2015 Iran unclear deal on 8 May.
On 3 July Rouhani said Tehran would increase uranium enrichment levels and start to revive the Arak nuclear reactor if the nations, which signed the deal, would fail to protect the accord.
In May 2018, the Trump administration unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, and began reintroducing tough banking and energy-related sanctions against Tehran. The US also threatened to slap secondary sanctions against any country buying oil from Iran.
Source: Sputnik
