Salehi: We are prepared to return to the nuclear program; currently, we do not see such a thing

The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, in an interview with Canada's CBC News, stated that if the President of the United States abolishes the JCPOA, Iran is ready to "easily return to its previous position and even a superior technological position." Salehi emphasized that currently, there is no such assessment. Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization and deputy of Hassan Rouhani, said Tehran has neither made a decision to return to the pre-agreement nuclear program nor sees such a day on the horizon, but returning to that status is "very simple." He stressed that the Iranian government previously managed to "rapidly resume its nuclear activities" following the "failure of that previous agreement." Donald Trump had taken an opposing stance on the nuclear agreement during the U.S. election campaign and spoke of "cancelling" it if elected. After his victory, several of his appointed officials, such as the Secretary of Defense, spoke of "maintaining" and adhering to U.S. commitments regarding the nuclear agreement, alongside reviewing and closely monitoring Iran's activities. In another part of his interview, Salehi stated that Tehran does not intend to evaluate or judge the new U.S. government yet. He mentioned, "I expected the issue of Iran or the nuclear program to be raised in Donald Trump's inauguration speech, but he did not bring up these topics." However, shortly after Trump's inauguration speech, the issue of Iran, alongside North Korea, was raised; the White House released a document showing that the new U.S. government is determined to "develop a missile defense system" to counter missile threats from Iran and North Korea. The Iranian Vice President responded to this topic in the CBC interview, stating that Iran does not intend to build a missile that can reach U.S. territory. The U.S. government, whether under Democrats or Republicans, has always criticized Iran's missile program, alongside several other actions described as "destabilizing regional activities." Iran has denied these accusations, claiming its missile program has a "defensive aspect." Ali Akbar Salehi told CBC, "America is 10,000 miles away from Iran, and we have never intended to build a missile that travels such a distance." Iranian officials have, however, repeatedly spoken of building and producing missiles that can target Israel. Israel is considered one of the most important allies of the United States. The Prime Minister of that country, Benjamin Netanyahu, has stated he wants to present a plan to the U.S. President to counter Iran and its nuclear program. In this context, Hassan Rouhani stated: "There will be no renegotiation of the JCPOA." The Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that Donald Trump's remarks have impacted the JCPOA's progress. The European Union announced the implementation of the lifting of sanctions on several Iranian companies. Trump's proposed representative to the UN called for a "review" of the JCPOA. The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister criticized the positions of "some British officials." A U.S. intelligence report indicated the increasing trend of war globally and ongoing instability in the Middle East.