Iran Is Declaring It Will Continue Developing Nuclear Weapons, Israeli FM Says
02/24/2021
Iran has made its intentions to continue building nuclear weapons clear, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi warned on Wednesday.
“The Iranian policy is a declaration of intent to continue developing hidden nuclear capabilities,” Ashkenazi warned.
Ashkenazi’s remarks came a day after the International Atomic Energy Agency issued a report on Iran, which said the country has produced 17.6 kg of uranium enriched up to 20%, as it said it would earlier this year. The report also said that uranium particles were found in at least four undeclared sites, and Tehran did not report where the nuclear materials are currently located.
The report came on the same day that Iran announced it would no longer comply with the Additional Protocol to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the 2015 Iran deal is called, which instituted snap IAEA inspections. Iran’s government had previously reached an agreement with the IAEA to allow three more months of inspections, but reneged.
“Israel sees this step as a threat that cannot be left without a response,” Ashkenazi said. “We will never allow Iran the capability to attain a nuclear weapon.”
A Foreign Ministry spokesman said Iran’s violation of the additional inspection arrangements in the Iran Deal are “extreme steps that cross all redlines that the international community set and conclusively empties the nuclear deal of any meaning.
Read More: Jerusalem Post