Last Thursday the U.S. Department of State announced the imposition of new sanctions against the Iranian regime’s Atomic Energy Organization, along with its Chief, Ali-Akbar Salehi. The sanctions, which were imposed in coordination with the U.S. Department of Treasury, were announced during the State Department’s daily press briefing.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) released a statement on Wednesday regarding the Iranian regime’s efforts to conceal the extent of its nuclear weapons program prior to the signing of the Iran nuclear deal in 2015 and the continued development of its nuclear program after the deal was signed.

#Iran Regime's Lies &Concealments in Atomic Projects After the #Nuclear Agreement https://t.co/3Lqmop8TQe #IranDeal #FreeIran

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) January 30, 2019

Regime Concealed Nuclear Equipment

The NCRI statement contains damning quotes from a high-ranking regime official who confesses to concealing evidence of nuclear equipment. In an interview on Iranian state television on January 22, 2019, the regime’s head of the Atomic Agency Ali Akbar Salehi confessed that the mullahs had hidden some of the nuclear equipment banned by the agreement.

“We had bought similar tubes to the ones that go through them there,” he said, referring to nuclear equipment, “but I could not declare them at the time. Only one person knew about it in Iran.” Salehi went on to say. “Only the highest authority of the regime [Ali Khamenei] was aware of this and no one else … His Holiness had said that you should be careful about these people (P5+1). They are not trustworthy and won’t keep to their promises. Well, we had to work smartly and intelligently. In addition to not breaking the bridges behind us, we also had to build a bridge that would enable us to go faster if we were to go back. It was a tube of two or three centimeters in diameter and three or four meters long … We had bought similar tubes, the same quantity, we were told to fill the main tubes with cement, so we poured cement in those tubes … but we did not say that we had other tubes because if we did, they would have said, ‘Sir, pour cement in those as well. We are going to use the same tubes now. Now we have those tubes.’”

The statement also quotes from another interview given by Salehi. In a January 30th interview with the state-run IRNA news agency, Salehi, said, “We had some substitute parts and bought some more, and these were not against the rules. There was no need to announce that we have substitute tubes.” Salehi explained that the subterfuge and concealment of equipment were done by order of regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. He continued: “We have to be alert and calculate the process of possible return. In other words, we should not eliminate all the bridges behind us.”

The Iranian Resistance had already divulged the mullahs’ hoax to conceal their nuclear arms and missile programs in Natanz, Arak, Parchin, Lavizan, Fordow, and SPND organization. The IAEA and former US administrations are aware.#Iran

— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) January 30, 2019

According to the NCRI statement, Salehi’s words make it clear that the regime entered into the nuclear deal with the intention of falsifying and concealing its activities and gaining additional opportunities to develop a nuclear weapon.

Previous Warnings by the NCRI

When the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was signed, Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the NCRI, warned that the mullahs had no intention of ceasing their nuclear ambitions. In a July 14, 2015 statement, she said, “This agreement does not close the mullahs’ path to deception and access to a nuclear bomb.”

On July14,2015 @Maryam_Rajavi warned that #IranDeal won't close the mullahs’ path to #nuclear bomb.She also warned:"Any leniency, hesitancy &concessions by the intl community will prompt Khamenei to move toward manufacturing through deception and cheating.”https://t.co/E4ori7RwMz

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) January 30, 2019

Mrs. Rajavi also warned about Khamenei’s ill intentions on November 24, 2013, saying, “Any leniency, hesitancy, and concessions by the international community will prompt Khamenei to once again move toward manufacturing through deception and cheating.”

Rouhani’s Confessions

The NCRI statement also noted that regime President Hassan Rouhani mentioned the regime’s nuclear program in his book, “National Security and Nuclear Diplomacy,” which also alluded to the MEK’s discovery of the mullahs’ nuclear program and subsequent sanctions. He wrote: “In 2002, the activities were moving in a calm atmosphere, but the Mujahedin [MEK] suddenly made a lot of noise by making false accusations… while our Atomic Energy Organization wanted to … notify the IAEA in a fait accompli.”

Rouhani furthered this confession in a public speech, in which he “revealed how Teheran played for time and tried to dupe the West after its secret nuclear programme was uncovered by the Iranian opposition in 2002,” according to a March 5, 2006 article in the Sunday Telegraph.

Staff Writer

On Tuesday, the Iranian regime’s nuclear chief made a shocking statement in an interview on the Face to Face television show. Ali Akbar Salehi said outright that the Iranian regime would continue activities at its heavy water plant in Arak, transfer 30 tons of yellowcake uranium to its conversion facility in Natanz, and build two new nuclear power reactors in Bushehr Province. This is despite Iran’s continued participation in the 2015 nuclear deal.

How we duped the West, by Iran's nuclear negotiator | via @Telegraph http://t.co/6cFnxY3raJ Rouhani lied before; remember this?

— Tony Duheaume (@TonyDuheaume) April 30, 2015

According to Salehi, Iran can do this because the nuclear deal has a number of technical flaws that the regime can exploit. He also said that the photographs of the existing nuclear reactor in Iran filled with cement were photoshopped. These images were taken and widely circulated as evidence that the reactor was unusable and therefore in compliance with the terms of the nuclear deal. Salehi claimed that Iran was never technically required to seal the reactor.

 

Salehi continued: “Iran has lost nothing as a result of signing the agreement and history will prove this. We have preserved our capabilities in the field of enrichment. We are…continuing to manufacture new centrifuges. We are doing everything we need to do.”

Behrooz Kamalvandi, a representative for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, also publicly stated that Iran’s nuclear program is ongoing, saying that the Arak facility is currently being redesigned with financial assistance from China. Kamalvandi said that these plans would not change even if the nuclear plan fell apart. China is a signatory of the nuclear deal.

The MEK’s Opposition to the Nuclear Deal

Sanctions were originally imposed upon Iran’s oil industry because the international community became aware of the regime’s nuclear program. This discovery was made by MEK supporters inside Iran who smuggled information about the regime’s nuclear activities outside of the country at great personal risk.

NCRI Revelation: Activities Continue at Organization Responsible for Work on Nuclear Weapons. #Iran #irandeal https://t.co/exL4omD6jv pic.twitter.com/x4pzx7V7ZG

— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 21, 2017

When the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was proposed, the MEK vocally opposed the deal, stating that the regime had never ceased their nuclear program and would not comply with the terms of the deal. The MEK has continued to oppose the nuclear deal and has been adamant in stating that Iran’s nuclear program is still active and poses a threat to the global community.

All of the Benefits with None of the Restrictions

 

Salehi’s statement has left many questioning the Iranian regime’s intentions. Why would the regime admit that it intends to create new nuclear facilities and materials, why would it claim to have falsified evidence that it rendered its reactor unusable, and why would it do so now?

 

Simply put, the Iranian regime never ceased its nuclear program, nor did it end its ambition to create nuclear weapons. The process has accelerated significantly because of the recent domestic and international crises facing the mullahs, including the widespread protests taking place inside the country and the blacklisting of the regime’s Intelligence Ministry by the E.U. in response to a series of attempted terrorist attacked by Iranian agents in Europe last year.

Regime Officials Respond to EU Blacklisting of MOIS Agents with Threats and Finger Pointing

Since the United States withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal last year, Iran’s oil exports have dropped to under one million barrels per day.
This is despite the regime’s efforts to solicit the aid of the E.U. in retaining international buyers. The E.U. has been less than helpful in this pursuit so far, causing the regime’s Foreign Ministry to walk out of a meeting with E.U. representatives on January 8th. The regime, finding itself in a desperate position, is now using the strategy it most commonly employs when cornered: threats.

Salehi claimed earlier this month that Iran had the capability to increase its uranium enrichment by 20% within four days. A few days ago, the regime made a failed attempt to launch satellites into space using technology that could be used to launch a nuclear warhead.

 

Some supporters of regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said that Iran should withdraw from the nuclear deal completely. Regime President Hassan Rouhani and his supporters say that Iran should remain part of the deal. Salehi’s statements provide a compromise for the two factions. Hassan Rouhani’s faction can claim the victory of keeping the benefits of remaining part of the nuclear deal, while Khamenei’s faction can ignore the restrictions, essentially violating the spirit of the deal.

Staff Writer