Tehran assured Wednesday July 20 that there was “
no change
” in its nuclear policy, after an Iranian official underlined a few days earlier the technical capacity of the country to manufacture an atomic bomb.
"
On the subject of weapons of mass destruction, we have the fatwa
" (religious decree), of the Supreme Leader which prohibits the manufacture of such weapons, foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani told reporters. .
This fatwa is regularly cited by the Iranian authorities as a guarantee of Tehran's good intentions.
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"
It seems that there has been no change in the opinion and position of the Islamic Republic,
" added Nasser Kanani.
"
Iran's nuclear capabilities are significant but, as he has mentioned many times, Iranian nuclear technology is completely peaceful and is subject to continuous monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
".
Stalled talks
The spokesperson was responding to a question about statements made Sunday by Kamal Kharrazi, the chairman of the Strategic Council for International Relations, which reports to the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirming that Tehran had "
the technical capacity to manufacture a nuclear bomb
".
Kamal Kharrazi had assured in the process that Iran had
not however "made the decision to manufacture
".
The talks in Vienna between Iran and the major powers, including Washington, to relaunch the 2015 Iranian nuclear agreement - supposed to prevent Tehran from acquiring the atomic bomb in exchange for the lifting of sanctions suffocating its economy - are at the stalled since March.
“The American side must make a political decision”
At the end of June, Qatar hosted indirect talks in Doha between Iran and the United States - which withdrew from the agreement in 2018 - in a bid to put the Vienna process back on track, but these talks have were discontinued after two days without any breakthrough.
According to Nasser Kanani, there is “
no fundamental problem for an agreement, but the American side must make a political decision.
»
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On Tuesday, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said US President Joe Biden "
has pledged that Iran will not acquire nuclear weapons
".
"
We continue to believe that diplomacy is the most effective, sustainable and viable way to achieve this
," Ned Price told reporters in Washington.
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