Iran’s Zarif says ‘dangerous spiral’ of nuclear terrorism can be contained if US ends economic terrorism

Iran says a recent sabotage operation targeting the country’s Natanz nuclear facility has unleashed a “dangerous spiral” that can only be contained if the US ends its campaign of economic terrorism launched by hawkish former president Donald Trump.  

“Nuclear terrorism at Natanz has unleashed dangerous spiral that can only be contained by ending US economic terrorism initiated by Trump,” Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a tweet on Wednesday.

An explosion struck Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment site on Sunday, resulting in a power failure. Officials, however, said the incident had not led to any casualties, damage or complications. 

Iran has blamed the “act of nuclear terrorism” at Natanz on Israel, which has a history of carrying out sabotage acts against Tehran’s nuclear work and assassinating the country’s nuclear scientists.

American and Israeli intelligence officials said there had been an Israeli role, although the Tel Aviv regime publicly declined to confirm or deny any responsibility.

The sabotage act took place as Tehran and the remaining parties to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal are in talks on the revival of the fragile agreement, which was abandoned by the US in 2018.

Diplomats from Iran and the UK, France, Russia and China plus Germany are to resume talks aimed at finding a way for the United States to rejoin the nuclear agreement and resume compliance on Thursday.  

The talks were to resume on Wednesday but Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that the negotiations were postponed to Thursday as one the EU delegate members is diagnosed with COVID-19 and health protocols must be followed. 

"According to the previous schedule, the negotiation session with the P4+1 was scheduled to take place on Wednesday, but due to the infection of one of the members of the EU political delegation with coronavirus and the need to comply with health protocols, the meeting will be held on Thursday," he said.

As part of his administration's "maximum pressure" campiagn, the US reimposed sanctions on Iran in violation of the JCPOA after leaving the accord but kept accusing Tehran of reneging on its obligations.

US President Joe Biden, who was vice president in the Barack Obama administration when the JCPOA was signed, has expressed a willingness to return Washington to the deal but no real action has been taken by the US side so far.

Iran has stressed that a US return to the JCPOA means the full removal of sanctions, which can be verified by Tehran.  

Zarif said in his Wednesday tweet that the Biden administration has a clear choice to make; that is either to return to the JCPOA or follow Trump’s “maximum failure” campaign.    

“No alternative. Not much time,” he added.

Meanwhile, Iran says it has already started work to use IR-4 and IR-6 centrifuges in Natanz for enriching uranium to the level of 60 percent and that it expects the product to be ready next week.

President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that Iran’s decision to start enriching uranium to 60 percent purity — which followed the suspected Israeli act of sabotage at Natanz — was a response to the “malicious acts” perpetrated by the enemies of the Islamic Republic.

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