Kerry: We Never Had Doubts About Iran's Past Nuclear Activities

The U.S. government, in clarifying its official position regarding the recent report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about the military dimensions of Iran's past nuclear activities, states that preventing the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons is far more important than its past activities. Just a day earlier, the U.S. government announced the early suspension of some sanctions against Iran. According to U.S. media, the lifting of sanctions will begin at the start of next month [less than a month from now]. On Friday, John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, stated: "Preventing the Iranian government from producing nuclear weapons in the future is much more important than the ambiguous military dimensions of past nuclear activities." In a press conference in Athens, Greece, Kerry elaborated on Washington's position regarding the IAEA report, saying: "It is currently premature to comment on the IAEA report, except to say that no one had any doubts about Iran's military efforts in the realm of past nuclear activities." Kerry added: "The United States has repeatedly stated from the very beginning that Iran was seeking to produce weapons in its nuclear project, and the U.S. was aware of these activities before 2003 [the year negotiations began], and there was no ambiguity about it." The U.S. Secretary of State further explained the current position of the country, stating: "The main issue now is to move forward and ensure that none of the events that occurred in the past will be repeated in the future. This is why the implementation of the JCPOA is very important, and a team led by Stephen Mull from the U.S. and others jointly monitors the implementation of the JCPOA daily to leave no questions unanswered; neither regarding Iran's past activities nor regarding what is being done today and tomorrow." The U.S. government's position to advance the JCPOA, which will also lead to the suspension or removal of sanctions against Iran, has faced criticism in Washington. Recently, Julia Freifeld, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, reiterated in a letter to a member of Congress that the nuclear agreement with the 1+5 group is merely a political commitment and does not create any legal obligations. However, what most Democratic and Republican lawmakers criticize is not the issue of legal obligations for the implementation of the JCPOA but the possibility of renewed efforts by the Islamic Republic to produce nuclear weapons. Ed Royce, the Republican Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, emphasized in a statement that the IAEA report confirms Iran's lying about its military nuclear activities. Royce stated: "The Iranian regime has secretly tried to produce nuclear weapons for years, and there are still unanswered questions in this regard; such as how far the Iranian government has progressed in its efforts to build a nuclear bomb and what happened to the nuclear materials and the results of the research and experts it hired?" The Republican Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee reiterated concerns about the possibility of covert efforts by the Islamic Republic to acquire nuclear weapons. U.S. media have reported that senior Obama administration officials have stated that with the implementation of the JCPOA, which is contingent on the decision of the IAEA Board of Governors, sanctions will also be lifted, and with the lifting of sanctions, significant economic benefits will accrue to the Iranian government. The Wall Street Journal has dedicated a detailed report to this issue, and the New York Times has also mentioned the approaching date for the lifting of sanctions, citing diplomats familiar with the IAEA inspectors' discussions with several Iranian nuclear scientists, including Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a senior scientist in Iran's nuclear programs. The Islamic Republic government has always denied efforts to acquire nuclear weapons, but Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the head of the Expediency Discernment Council, recently stated that at one point in the nuclear activities, the Islamic Republic was considering production. In this context, Israel has called for further investigations by the IAEA into Iran's nuclear program.