Zakani: Collection of Centrifuges at Fordow Has Stopped

The head of the special commission reviewing the JCPOA in Parliament emphasized the continuation of this commission's work, stating that the collection of Iran's centrifuges has been halted at the Fordow nuclear site after a 'warning' was issued to government officials. According to Mehr News Agency, Alireza Zakani on Sunday, November 17, called the collection of centrifuges at the nuclear facilities 'incorrect' and mentioned that government officials received a 'warning' due to this action. He added, 'Following this warning, they have stopped the work, and at least in Fordow, this process has been halted.' Mr. Zakani did not specify which individual or entity the government officials received the 'warning' from, which could refer to Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, or the Supreme National Security Council. Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, stated on Tuesday, November 11, in an interview with Kyodo News that Iran has begun implementing the Vienna nuclear agreement by reducing the number of uranium-enriching centrifuges. This action prompted protests from several members of Parliament and former members of Iran's negotiating team. Meanwhile, Hamid Rasai, a representative from Tehran in Parliament, on Tuesday, November 12, quoted an unnamed government official from Hassan Rouhani's administration, stating that the Supreme Leader has 'accepted' the start of Iran's 'practical measures' for implementing the Vienna nuclear agreement. He deemed these statements from the government official as 'unacceptable.' Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization, announced that the collection of centrifuges will be conducted with consideration for reversibility. However, Fereydoun Abbasi, former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, stated that shutting down the centrifuges and their reversibility incurs a '60 percent' loss. According to the Vienna nuclear agreement reached on July 14 this year between Iran and six world powers, Tehran agreed to phase out its IR-1 centrifuges in the first ten years and limit its enrichment capacity at the Natanz facility to a maximum of 5,060 IR-1 centrifuges during this period. Iran's enrichment level has also been set at 3.67 percent for the next 15 years. The work of the JCPOA commission has not 'ended.' In another part of his remarks, Mr. Zakani reacted to statements from some members of Parliament about the end of the JCPOA commission's work, saying, 'The work of a special commission concludes when the term of the Parliament is over or the issue that the commission is working on has come to an end; currently, neither the ninth Parliament has ended nor has the JCPOA issue concluded.' After the approval of the plan to implement the Vienna nuclear agreement, some members of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Parliament, including Avaz Heydarpoor, announced that the work of the JCPOA commission was finished. Previously, the JCPOA commission's report on the Vienna nuclear agreement had elicited reactions from several members of Parliament. Meanwhile, Aladdin Boroujerdi, Mansour Haqiqatpour, Gholamreza Tajgardoon, Masoud Pezeshkian, and Abbasali Mansouri Arani, five members of the special JCPOA commission, issued a statement on October 12, calling the final report of this commission 'one-sided' and emphasizing that this report 'does not align with national interests' and disregards the positive effects of the Vienna nuclear agreement.