Rouhani's Orders to Zarif and Salehi Regarding U.S. 'Violation of JCPOA'

Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, instructed the Foreign Minister and the Head of the Atomic Energy Organization to take action regarding the 'implementation of the stages outlined in the JCPOA to address violations' of it. According to a report on Tuesday, December 13, on the presidential website, Rouhani issued these orders in two separate letters to Mohammad Javad Zarif and Ali Akbar Salehi, citing what he called 'negligence, delay, and violation of the JCPOA' by the U.S. and the ten-year extension of the D'Amato sanctions law against Iran. In these two letters, Rouhani also referred to 'the decisions of the Supreme National Security Council and the JCPOA Monitoring Board.' He wrote to Zarif that 'the Foreign Ministry is instructed to take action regarding the implementation of the stages outlined in the JCPOA to address violations and to seriously pursue other necessary legal and international follow-ups.' He also requested that Zarif report on the Foreign Ministry's actions in this regard within a month. In a separate letter to his deputy and the head of the Atomic Energy Organization, Rouhani ordered that, in light of the 'violation of the JCPOA' by the U.S., 'missions' be carried out in the development of the peaceful nuclear program of the Islamic Republic within the framework of international commitments. Salehi's missions in this letter include 'planning for the design and construction of a nuclear propulsion system for use in maritime transport' and 'studying and designing the production of fuel for the nuclear propulsion system' in collaboration with scientific and research centers. Rouhani also requested that Salehi inform him of a 'scheduled plan and program to achieve the provisions' outlined in the letter within a maximum of three months. Ali Akbar Velayati, a member of the JCPOA Monitoring Board, recently reported for the umpteenth time on decisions being made in response to the extension of the D'Amato sanctions law against Iran in the U.S. Senate. The advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic stated that Iran's reaction would differ depending on whether the Congress's resolution is signed by the U.S. President, but 'there will be an appropriate reaction to what has been done so far, and decisions have been made regarding what needs to be done.' He added that 'the details of the decisions made in Wednesday's meeting will soon be made known to the public, and surely the people will be happy to hear it, and the enemy will be disappointed.' Ali Larijani, the Speaker of the Parliament, had also previously announced that 'the Nuclear Council will decide on how to deal with the extension of sanctions in the coming days.' After the U.S. House of Representatives approved the extension of the D'Amato sanctions law against Iran, the Senate of that country also extended the law for another ten years without a single opposing vote. This action has faced anger from Islamic Republic officials, and Rouhani's government has been under intense pressure from various conservative factions to respond to this U.S. action.