Mohsen Rezaei's Warnings to the U.S. Regarding Nuclear Negotiations

Mohsen Rezaei, the Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran, on Saturday evening, July 20, referred to the nuclear negotiations and addressed the Americans, saying: "Cherish the smiles of Mr. Rouhani and Mr. Zarif, because 13 years ago they smiled at you, and you ignored it, and you faced the slap of 20,000 centrifuges and 20% enrichment." According to ISNA news agency, he added: "Now I advise you to accept Mr. Rouhani's smile again so that you do not face the slap of 100,000 centrifuges." The Secretary of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran also threatened that if the U.S. takes military action against Iran, in the first week, "a thousand" American forces will be "captured," and the U.S. will have to pay "several billion dollars" for the release of "each one of them," and "at that time, Iran's economic problem" may also be resolved. The Deputy Speaker of the Iranian Parliament announced that if the negotiations with the 1+5 group fail, Iran will resume enrichment activities "at least at 20%". According to IRIB news agency, Mohammad Hassan Abutalebi-Fard said on Sunday, July 21, in a television program that if the negotiations with the 1+5 group do not "reach a conclusion," Iran will inject gas into "all 19,000" centrifuges at the Natanz nuclear facility. According to Mr. Abutalebi, currently, gas is only being injected into "9,000 centrifuges" at the Natanz nuclear site. He added: "At the same time, we will finalize the IR-8 machines, which operate 20 times more than IR-1, and continue activities to reach the point of 190,000 SWU." Previously, Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, also stated on Tuesday, July 9, that if a potential agreement between Iran and the 1+5 group is "violated," Iran will return to its previous course. Iran halted 20% uranium enrichment activities following the Geneva agreement, delayed work on the Arak heavy water reactor, and has so far adhered to most of its commitments under the practical measures based on reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency. Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, stated in December 2014 that Iran possesses the "latest generation of IR-8 centrifuges" but "they have not yet been injected with gas." According to the U.S. fact sheet from the Lausanne nuclear agreement, Iran has agreed to reduce its number of centrifuges from the current 19,000 to 6,104, of which 5,060 will continue uranium enrichment for 10 years. According to this fact sheet, all 6,104 centrifuges will be of the "IR-1" type, which is the first generation of Iran's centrifuges. Hassan Firouzabadi, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Iran, also stated that "the option on the table for the U.S. is a paper tiger." He added: "If the negotiations succeed, the nation will celebrate, and if they do not succeed, we will celebrate as a victory in resistance." The statements of these Islamic Republic officials come as Iranian media have assessed the likelihood of reaching an agreement with the 1+5 group as more serious than in previous days, following remarks from members of the Iranian negotiating team.