The spokesperson for the Parliament National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said the installation of “IR2M” reactors has started in line with a counteractive law to lift sanctions approved by the lawmakers.
Abolfazl Amouei exclusively told Mehr news agency on Sunday that the Commission discussed implementation of the law dubbed the ‘Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions’.
The meeting was also attended by representatives from the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said the MP.
According to Amouei, AEOI’s spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi submitted a comprehensive report on the implementation of various provisions of the strategic plan.
“According to Kamalvandi,” said he MP, “enriching uranium with 20-percent purity has been implemented in accordance with Article 1 of the law, details of which have been sent to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).”
According to the scheduled program, the AEOI is planning a reactor similar to the Arak Heavy Water before modernization, Amouei continued.
The Strategic Action Plan to Counter Sanctions, was approved in late 2020 by the Iranian lawmakers, giving the next US administration until February 21 to remove the country’s unilateral sanctions against Iran.
The law also allowed the Islamic Republic to expel the United Nations nuclear watchdog inspectors if Washington failed to resume its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Earlier on Sunday, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said, Tehran does not care whether or not the next US administration will rejoin the JCPOA, but the critical issue is the practical lifting of sanctions under the agreement,
From Iran’s point of view, Qalibaf said, the sanctions are deemed to be lifted only when Tehran sells oil freely, the central bank receives revenues through official mechanisms, and Iranian business people work freely with the world. He further added that in that case Iran will resume honoring its JCPOA commitments.
Last Monday, Iran announced it had resumed the process of enriching uranium to 20 percent purity at its Fordo nuclear facility in response to the US ‘maximum pressure’ policy.
The United States, under President Donald Trump, abandoned the nuclear deal between Iran and others – which has been hailed by much of the world as a pillar of regional and international security – in May, 2018 and restored the “toughest ever” sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
The unilateral measure prompted Iran to announce a set of nuclear countermeasures as it has been allowed under the deal.