President Trump and other US officials are hyping Iran’s civilian nuclear program, accusing the nation of “nuclear extortion” for increasing their enrichment level from 3.67% to 4.5%.
The increased enrichment is above what is allowed by the P5+1 deal, but
far, far below the 90% needed to make weapons. Iran’s interest is to get
talks started to ensure they get sanctions relief that the deal also
promised, and which the US has blocked other nations from making good
on.
Iranian Ambassador Kazim Gharib Abadi dismissed the US claims, saying “we have nothing to hide,” and pointing out that every aspect of the Iranian nuclear program is being constantly monitored by the IAEA.
The US complaints about the Iranian program and the nuclear deal make
increasingly little difference to the deal itself, since the US withdrew
from the deal long ago, and doesn’t have anything to say about
enforcement in practical terms.
Iran Nuclear Envoy: We Have Nothing to Hide, IAEA Is Monitoring Everything
Dismisses US accusations of 'nuclear extortion'
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
Join the Discussion!
We welcome thoughtful and respectful comments. Hateful language, illegal content, or attacks against Antiwar.com will be removed.
For more details, please see our Comment Policy.
