Velayati's Proposals for Responding to US Withdrawal from JCPOA

Ali Akbar Velayati, international affairs advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, on Wednesday, June 9, reacted to the US withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran, known as the JCPOA, calling for the use of new generation centrifuges and powerful nuclear engines. According to the IRIB news agency, Velayati, speaking at the 'Enduring Experience' conference, criticized the approach of the Iranian negotiating team and parliament regarding the nuclear agreement with six world powers in 2015. The Supreme Leader's international affairs advisor stated: 'One flaw of the JCPOA was the lack of a Persian text, which made one feel inferior; even the treaties of Golestan and Turkmenchay had that humiliating Persian text, but this was not done for the JCPOA.' He added: 'Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, repeatedly warned and said to obtain written guarantees from American officials, but unfortunately, this was not done by the country's officials.' Iran and six world powers, including the US, Russia, China, France, and the UK along with Germany, reached a comprehensive agreement in 2015 to resolve ambiguities regarding Iran's nuclear program, under which Iran limited some of its nuclear activities in exchange for the suspension of nuclear sanctions against Tehran. Meanwhile, Donald Trump, the US President, announced on May 8 that the US would withdraw from the nuclear agreement with Iran known as the JCPOA and would reinstate suspended sanctions against Iran while imposing new penalties on Tehran. Trump stated that the JCPOA 'brought neither peace nor security' and that the Islamic Republic continued to expand its ballistic missile program and 'support for terrorism' after the JCPOA. However, European countries, while expressing dissatisfaction with the US action, say that the JCPOA closed Iran's pathways to obtaining nuclear weapons and must be preserved. In his speech regarding Iran's response to the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, Velayati said: 'We can start producing UF6 (uranium hexafluoride), which turns into gas at 70 degrees and is capable of spinning centrifuges for enrichment.' He noted that 'these proposals can serve as a response to America's breach of commitment without raising suspicions of violating the JCPOA.' He added: 'We can produce stable isotopes that indicate our power, but they are not for weapons.' Velayati also called for the construction and use of powerful nuclear engines for ships and submarines. He stated: 'Officials must pursue research related to the new generation of centrifuges and meet the country's needs in the area of 190,000 SWU, which was emphasized by the Leader of the Revolution; work must definitely be done on IR6 and IR8 centrifuges.' Velayati further called for Iran to distance itself from Europe and move closer to Russia and China. The Supreme Leader's international advisor said: 'Russia neither can nor intends to pressure Iran. We are cooperating with this country on defense issues, and it has given us almost everything we wanted.' He added: 'A strategic look to the East is the easiest way to free ourselves from the tricks of the West.' Velayati continued to call for the preservation of Iran's 'missile and regional power' and stated: 'Nuclear enhancement should be carried out in areas where there are no restrictions.' Previously, critics had criticized President Hassan Rouhani's government's approach of continuing negotiations with Europeans to remain in the JCPOA. In this context, several members of parliament symbolically burned a copy of the nuclear agreement in the public session. However, Iran is seeking practical guarantees from the European Union, and European officials say that the reason for Europe's efforts to preserve the JCPOA is not due to economic interests but for security interests. Meanwhile, US officials have expressed hope that the US withdrawal from the JCPOA and the intensification of sanctions against the Islamic Republic will lead to a change in Iran's behavior. In this context, Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State, emphasized that the United States 'will impose the toughest sanctions in history against Iran, and if the Iranian government does not change its behavior, the pressure of sanctions will increase.'