General Agreement on Iran's Joining the Multinational Nuclear Project

A year after signing the nuclear agreement, the JCPOA, between Iran and the 1+5 group, the Islamic Republic of Iran announced a general agreement and joint cooperation with France on a multinational nuclear fusion project known as "ITER." In a report published on Tuesday, July 21, spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization stated: "This project began 10 years ago and is expected to experimentally produce fusion energy at a capacity of 500 megawatts by 2030, with the first 500-megawatt reactor becoming operational by 2040." Kamalvandi emphasized that Iran is expanding its cooperation with "ITER." He also announced the achievement of a general agreement with French officials for collaboration on this project and proposed the participation of Iranian scientists in this global initiative. In this context, Reuters reports that the French Foreign Ministry has declined to confirm or deny this news. According to Reuters, Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, has discussed the prospects of Iran's cooperation with the "ITER" project with officials in France this month. The international nuclear fusion project, "ITER," is a demonstration reactor project initiated ten years ago by the United States, the European Union, Russia, China, Japan, and India. The aim of this project is to produce cheap electricity without harming the environment. Reuters also notes that "ITER" has not yet confirmed or denied this news. Roman Nadal, spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry, also refrained from confirming or denying Iran's collaboration in the "ITER" project, stating in response to a question that France supports the full and precise implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which allows for the development of peaceful nuclear cooperation with Iran. Under the nuclear agreement signed a year ago on July 14, 2015, Iran committed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of Western sanctions. Since then, the International Atomic Energy Agency has confirmed that Iran has adhered to its commitments under the JCPOA. However, some officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran state that several months after the implementation of the JCPOA, banking transactions with the West still face obstacles. The U.S. Secretary of State and his counterparts from Britain, Germany, and France, along with the EU's foreign policy chief, issued a statement on May 30, urging banks and traders not to overlook legal investment opportunities in Iran. These countries have also expressed readiness to address any doubts in this regard.