Iran has halted the dismantling of its centrifuges at two uranium enrichment plants, days after conservative lawmakers complained to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that the disassembly process was moving too quickly and that he was going against directives from Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Last week, as part of its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran announced it had begun disassembling its inactive centrifuges at in Natanz and Fordow, but that process has apparently now been halted, Israeli daily NRG reported on Tuesday.
“The [dismantling] process stopped with a warning,” said Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of Iran’s National Security Council. He did not specify what he meant by “warning,” but Alireza Zakani, the head of the Iranian parliament’s nuclear deal commission, said that the dismantling had stopped in Fordow as a result of the lawmakers’ letter to Rouhani.
A group of 20 lawmakers wrote Rouhani last week complaining that the deactivation of centrifuges contradicted the directives given earlier this month by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei regarding Iran’s implementation of the JCPOA.
Khamenei’s orders were that the nuclear deal should only be implemented after allegations regarding the Possible Military Dimensions (PMDs) of Iran’s nuclear program cease.
By: The Algemeiner