Bahner: The U.S. Questions Some Provisions of the Lausanne Agreement

Mohammad Reza Bahner, a conservative member of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, states that the United States has requested Iran to reduce the number of centrifuges at the Fordow facility to between 300 and 400, contrary to the Lausanne nuclear agreement. News agencies Mehr and Fars reported on Saturday, May 23, Bahner's remarks, indicating that Washington has not adhered to the Lausanne nuclear agreement; however, Iran does not intend to leave the negotiation table. This Iranian parliament member stated, 'The U.S. has been backtracking on four or five points and has even questioned some of the provisions of the Lausanne nuclear agreement.' According to him, the U.S. has requested Iran to reduce the number of centrifuges at the Fordow nuclear facility from one thousand to 300 to 400, which was not part of the agreement. Based on the Lausanne nuclear agreement, uranium enrichment activities in Iran are to be limited to the Natanz facility. The U.S. fact sheet on this agreement also states that Iran will not carry out any enrichment-related activities at the Fordow site for 15 years, and about two-thirds of its centrifuges will be relocated. However, Bahner mentions that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, is distrustful of the West and their commitments, stating, 'We must be concerned about what happens after the West signs.' He added that 'the West has requested to interrogate' Iran's nuclear scientists, but the Islamic Republic will not introduce its scientists to them. Bahner ultimately emphasized that 'the Islamic Republic of Iran, while not intending to leave the negotiation table, is serious about maintaining its red lines.' Additionally, reports from Iran indicate that a planned gathering by a group of Basij students regarding the nuclear issue faced government opposition. Fars news agency quoted Mostafa Asadi, the head of the Basij student organization at Allameh Tabatabai University, stating that permission for the gathering in Palestine Square in Tehran was initially granted but revoked just hours before the event. Asadi mentioned that the gathering of Basij students was to 'assert Iran's nuclear rights.' Some conservative figures and organizations in Iran oppose President Hassan Rouhani's government's policies in the nuclear negotiations, having previously expressed their dissent at a conference titled 'We are Concerned.'