Zarif: None of Iran's Nuclear Activities Will Be Halted or Stopped

While criticism emerged from within the country just hours after the announcement of Iran's nuclear agreement with world powers, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic announced upon his return to Tehran that Iran will limit its "enrichment process" for ten years under "specific conditions" based on this agreement. According to the Iranian Labor News Agency, ILNA, Mohammad Javad Zarif stated on Friday, April 3, upon arriving in Tehran that "the Natanz site will continue its enrichment activities." He also emphasized that "none of Iran's nuclear activities will be halted or stopped." According to the Iranian Students' News Agency, ISNA, the Foreign Minister stated that "the discussion was about 20 years of severe limitations plus 10 years of long-term actions, but today our enrichment will only have a ten-year limitation, under specific conditions." Mr. Zarif had also mentioned on Thursday, February 26, 2015, that the Islamic Republic might accept a proposal for a ten-year limitation on its nuclear activities. On Friday, the Foreign Minister further stated that over "a thousand centrifuges" will continue to operate at the Fordow nuclear site, with "two chains" working without nuclear materials. According to Mr. Zarif, this center will be transformed into an "advanced nuclear and research center." The transformation of the Fordow site into a research center is one of Iran's commitments in the agreement with the six major world powers in Lausanne. Meanwhile, some conservative figures have criticized Iran's commitment to halt enrichment at this site. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, had also identified "enrichment capacity," "research and development," and "the Fordow facilities" as three important issues in Iran's nuclear negotiations with the 1+5 group on July 6, 2014. Mr. Zarif also stated that "the day the agreement is implemented, all economic and financial sanctions will be lifted." He added, "We do not care what the internal legal methods of the U.S. government are; it is the responsibility of the U.S. government to follow these methods... and if someone talks about a gradual lifting of sanctions, we must know that they are speaking contrary to what has been approved so far." Meanwhile, Abbas Araqchi, a senior member of Iran's nuclear negotiating team, in an interview with Iranian television, responded to the question of whether sanctions could be lifted by the end of this summer, saying, "It will almost be like that." According to the agreement between Iran and the 5+1 countries in Lausanne, the European Union will end the economic and financial sanctions related to Iran's nuclear program, and the United States will also stop implementing secondary financial and economic sanctions related to the nuclear issue, simultaneously with the implementation of Iran's major nuclear commitments, in a manner that will be verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency. However, John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, has emphasized that if Tehran does not act according to the agreement, sanctions will be reimposed. Meanwhile, according to ILNA, Mr. Zarif also stated, "Another possibility in the agreement will be that if the other side says they will reinstate the sanctions, we can also refrain from fulfilling our commitments after a process in case of a violation by the other side." According to ISNA, the Iranian Foreign Minister also clarified, "We had several serious goals from the negotiations and are still at the beginning of the road, but ultimately based on what we have achieved so far, we believe we will achieve our goals." According to ILNA, a group of people welcomed the Iranian nuclear negotiating team at Mehrabad Airport on Wednesday. According to this report, the welcome participants chanted critical slogans regarding the coverage of the negotiations by state media. According to this news agency, slogans such as "The minister of logic, reminiscent of Mossadegh" and "Long live Dr. Zarif, long live Rouhani" were among the other slogans of these participants. Additionally, according to reports from Khabar Online and ILNA, several actors and directors of Iranian cinema, including Baran Kowsari, Peyman Maadi, Mahnaz Afshar, Niyousha Zighami, Saber Abar, Hamid Goudarzi, Nafiseh Roshan, and Parand Zahidi, expressed their gratitude to the Iranian negotiating team on social media. Meanwhile, Hossein Marashi, a member of the Construction Workers Party, stated that "this great work of the Rouhani government and Zarif will undoubtedly be recorded in history." He added, "The alarmists are now facing a great test, and it remains to be seen whether they appreciate this great divine blessing or not." Mr. Marashi emphasized, "If they intend to serve and achieve national interests, they should be satisfied today, but if their intention is to show off and achieve extremist goals, they should calm down from today and allow this government to manage the country in peace during the year of interaction between the government and the people." The term "alarmists" in Iranian media refers to critics of Iran's nuclear negotiations with the 1+5 countries, most of whom are close to the Stability Front and hardline conservatives.