Saudi Arabia Calls for Reform of the 'Sunset Clause' in Nuclear Agreement with Iran

On Thursday, March 3, Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi Foreign Minister, stated that the 'sunset clause' in the Iran nuclear agreement with six world powers, known as the JCPOA, is 'very dangerous' and 'unacceptable.' According to the English website Al Arabiya, affiliated with Saudi Arabia, al-Jubeir expressed his country's position on the nuclear agreement during a European Parliament meeting in Brussels. The Saudi Foreign Minister said, 'We believe that the sunset clause allows Iran to enrich uranium as much as it wants in eight to ten years, which is very dangerous because Iran could theoretically have 50 to 60 thousand centrifuges and be able to enrich the uranium needed to build a nuclear bomb within weeks. This is unacceptable to us because we do not trust Iran not to do such a thing in the next eight or ten years.' He added, 'We want to reform this issue, and I think this is also the position of the Trump administration.' According to the sunset clause in the JCPOA, after ten years, Iran can increase its enrichment centrifuges, and after fifteen years, it is allowed to increase its stock of low-enriched uranium. The Saudi Foreign Minister further stated that the inspection structure of Iran's nuclear facilities under the JCPOA is weak and that inspections should include not only declared facilities but also undeclared and military sites. Al-Jubeir cited the Fordow site near Qom as an example, saying, 'We currently do not know what Iran has and what it does not have.' He emphasized that the nuclear agreement itself cannot impose significant limitations on Iran's aggressive behavior. In this context, Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, stated in London on Thursday regarding the sunset clause: 'The JCPOA does not have a sunset clause; it is not temporary. Iran's commitment to not acquiring nuclear weapons is permanent, not temporary.' According to IRNA, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Iran further stated, 'The text of the JCPOA states: Iran emphasizes that under no circumstances will it seek to acquire nuclear weapons.' He then clarified, 'This sentence is in the very first paragraph and is repeated twice and is very explicit.' In another part of his remarks, al-Jubeir noted that extremism in the Middle East began with the Iranian Revolution in 1979, asserting that the Iranian government is responsible for spreading instability in the region. He continued, 'We must work together to compel Iran to refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of regional countries.' The Saudi Foreign Minister added, 'We tell Iran to stop; the revolution is over.' Al-Jubeir also accused the Houthi Shiite militants of being responsible for famine in Yemen, stating that Iran provides ballistic missiles to the Houthi militants. However, he asserted that the Houthis will eventually return to negotiations, as this is the only possible solution. Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia have significantly deteriorated in recent years. Saudi Arabia, along with several other Arab countries in the region, accuses Iran of causing instability by interfering in the internal affairs of countries like Yemen. Meanwhile, Iran denies accusations of sending missiles and weapons to the Houthi militants, claiming that the evidence presented in this regard is fabricated. Saudi Arabia supports Yemeni government forces against the Houthi militants in the ongoing civil war, which has resulted in thousands of deaths and millions facing famine.