Zarif's Reaction to AP's Alleged Document on Nuclear Agreement

Iran's Foreign Minister described the alleged document released by the Associated Press regarding the reduction of restrictions on Iran's nuclear program after 11 to 13 years as a source of 'pride.' According to Fars News Agency, Mohammad Javad Zarif emphasized on Tuesday, April 29, that 'God willing, when the entire document is published, it will become clear where we will reach in 15 years.' Zarif stated, 'All the world's media have not seen the entire document to be aware of the pride that our negotiating friends and our industry have created, yet all media say Iran will rapidly move towards industrial enrichment after 10 years.' The Associated Press reported on Monday evening that it had obtained a document related to Iran's nuclear agreement, indicating that by easing key restrictions on the nuclear program, the time for Iran to reach a nuclear weapon is reduced. The AP claims that this document is a secret annex to last year's nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, and based on it, after 11 to 13 years, Iran can replace more than five thousand of its 'ineffective centrifuges' with three thousand and five hundred advanced devices. The U.S. has denied the existence of such a secret annex in the nuclear agreement. Zarif also reacted to the UN Secretary-General's report, stating that this report was based on 'incomplete information and ignorance' of Ban Ki-moon regarding Iran's nuclear negotiations with the 1+5 group. Zarif had previously described the recent positions of the UN Secretary-General as 'irrelevant' and noted that 'unfortunately, the Secretary-General of the United Nations has not left a very good record for himself in recent years.' Ban Ki-moon, in a report to the members of the Security Council, parts of which were published last week by Reuters, stated that Iran's missile tests are 'inconsistent with the spirit' of the Vienna nuclear agreement. The U.S. and Russia criticized the manner of drafting and some provisions of this report on Monday. On the same day, Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, called this report 'completely biased,' 'partisan,' 'unbalanced,' and 'contradictory to the spirit and text' of the Vienna nuclear agreement, while also considering the report's reference to the 'shortcomings' of Western parties in fulfilling their commitments under the JCPOA as 'a positive step.' The UN Secretary-General's report stated that Iran complained about not being able to benefit from all the advantages of lifting nuclear sanctions, including the restrictions imposed by the U.S. and expressed concern over the seizure of Iran's Central Bank assets by a U.S. court ruling. Meanwhile, Abbas Araqchi, head of the JCPOA follow-up team in Iran, announced that in the fourth meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission, which will be held on Tuesday in Austria, the parties will discuss the obstacles to implementing the Vienna nuclear agreement. He emphasized that Iran will raise the existing obstacles to re-establishing banking relations in this commission. Iranian Foreign Ministry officials have previously protested against U.S. congressional resolutions and accused the country of 'bad faith' in implementing the Vienna nuclear agreement while also stating that the Vienna nuclear agreement has not been violated by the U.S. The accusation of U.S. obstruction in the implementation of the JCPOA is made by Iran, while U.S. officials deny this claim, stating that they have acted even 'beyond their commitments' in the nuclear agreement.