Iran's Renewed Protest Against Britain's 'Breach of Promise' Regarding Yellowcake Imports

The spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry accused Britain of 'breach of promise' regarding the entry of yellowcake into Iran, stating, 'We hope that England will return to its commitments under the JCPOA and agree to this purchase.' According to the news agencies IRNA and ILNA, Bahram Qasemi made this statement during his press conference on Tuesday, April 17. As reported by ILNA, Qasemi responded to the question of whether any country besides England opposes the purchase of 950 tons of yellowcake and whether this issue will be discussed in the next meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission, clarifying, 'The Joint Commission is the authority for resolving disputes in the implementation of the JCPOA. This meeting will be held on May 25. London has acted unethically in this regard, and we hope that England will return to its commitments under the JCPOA and agree to this purchase.' In response to the question of what the disagreement is, he stated, 'There is no disagreement; rather, there is a lack of will. They need to return to their commitments.' Yellowcake refers to concentrated uranium oxide, which is used for uranium enrichment. Ali Akbar Salehi, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, announced last December that the Islamic Republic had referred a request to purchase 950 tons of yellowcake from Kazakhstan to the secretariat of the JCPOA Joint Commission, and the implementation of this agreement is only awaiting Britain's approval. Salehi explained that if this agreement is executed, 300 tons of this yellowcake will be converted to UF-6 gas and sold back to Kazakhstan. According to Salehi, the 1+5 countries had communicated their 'written' agreement to the secretariat of the JCPOA Joint Commission, but Britain 'changed its opinion at the last moment due to the U.S. elections and Middle Eastern issues,' and Iran is waiting for this country’s response. In the last days of the previous calendar year, Kazakhstan also exported 60 tons of yellowcake to Iran, which was part of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the six world powers to remove Iran's enriched uranium reserves abroad and receive yellowcake for nuclear fuel production. The Vienna nuclear agreement allows Iran to import yellowcake, and according to Foreign Ministry officials, the import of yellowcake in 2015 was the first time after the 1979 revolution. The last import of yellowcake before the revolution was from South Africa. According to the Vienna nuclear agreement, Iran is also only allowed to possess low-enriched uranium, which is not suitable for making nuclear weapons, and the amount of this weak uranium in Iran must never exceed 300 kilograms.