Alavi: Without the JCPOA, Iran's Nuclear Industry Will Reach More Sensitive Points

The Minister of Intelligence of the Islamic Republic has warned that if other countries withdraw from the JCPOA, Iran's nuclear industry will "reach more sensitive points"; simultaneously, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry has stated that ignoring China and Russia in negotiations for the survival of the JCPOA is a "mistake." Mahmoud Alavi, the Minister of Intelligence, said on Tuesday, July 4, during a visit to the Fordow nuclear facilities: If foreign countries "act like the U.S. and breach their commitments" and withdraw from the JCPOA, they will see that Iranian experts "in a short time will advance far more than we were before the JCPOA and will bring the country's nuclear industry to more sensitive and decisive advancements." According to the nuclear agreement, any uranium enrichment at "Fordow" is prohibited, and Iran must convert this facility into a scientific and technological center. According to ISNA, Mr. Alavi pointed out that Iranian diplomats have explicitly told negotiating parties that "the JCPOA is hanging by a thread" and added that the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA "destroyed the little credibility that this agreement had." The nuclear agreement was signed in July 2015 between Iran and six world powers, but Donald Trump announced the U.S. withdrawal from this agreement on May 8, citing that the Islamic Republic continued to develop its ballistic missile program and "support for terrorism" in the region after the JCPOA. Currently, negotiations are taking place between Iran and three European countries, Germany, France, and the UK, to clarify the fate of the nuclear agreement. The statements of the Minister of Intelligence were published one day after Mohammad Javad Zarif, the Iranian Foreign Minister, emphasized that the failure of the JCPOA "is very dangerous for Iran," although he stated that if Iran is forced, it will comply. Mohammad Javad Zarif also claimed that the U.S. strategy is to force Iran to withdraw from the nuclear agreement, stating: "The U.S. has identified our breathing channels, and even if it had not identified them sufficiently, the arrests of Zarrab and Sadr Hashemi identified them." On the other hand, the spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry also emphasized the importance of China and Russia in the negotiations, referring to Tehran's discussions with countries he described as "interested" in preserving the JCPOA. Bahram Qasemi considered ignoring these two countries and relying solely on negotiations with European countries as a "mistake" and stated: If a package is to be presented to Iran as a proposal, it must be agreed upon by all five countries. This Foreign Ministry official also announced Iran's intention to file a complaint at the International Court of Justice due to the blocking of two billion dollars of Iran's Central Bank assets in the U.S. After the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA and the re-imposition of sanctions against Iran's nuclear program, the U.S. Treasury Department placed Valiollah Seif, the head of Iran's Central Bank, on its sanctions list for "providing millions of dollars in financial resources" for Hezbollah in Lebanon. European countries have stated that despite their desire to maintain the JCPOA, they agree with the U.S. regarding Iran's missile activities and the Islamic Republic's actions in the region. In recent weeks, several large European companies in various sectors have announced that they are withdrawing from business relations with Iran.