On uranium, presidential elections and relations with Kazakhstan - exclusive interview with Ambassador of Iran to Kazakhstan

Your Excellency, allow me to express my condolences on the death of President Ebrahim Raisi. And all those who were on board the helicopter.

I also welcome you and your colleagues here. I am heartily grateful to you for your condolences on the death of the President. I also wanted to thank you for the condolences that were expressed by the people of Kazakhstan, the Government of Kazakhstan, as well as the President personally. I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of the entire Iranian people and the embassy personally.

In early June, France, Germany and Great Britain (EU three) officially submitted a resolution to the IAEA Board of Governors condemning Iran’s nuclear escalation. The EU three in the draft resolution calls on Iran to cooperate with the IAEA and explain the presence of traces of uranium at undeclared Iranian sites. Iran rushed to install additional uranium enrichment centrifuges at the Fordow nuclear site and began installing others, according to an IAEA report. Was this related to the IAEA resolution?

You probably know very well that there has never been such a thing in the history of the world that Iran cooperated so closely with the IAEA. Statistics of inspections of our facilities and visits by IAEA delegations show that Iran cooperated with the IAEA at the highest level. As you know, as a result of many years of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program between 5 Western countries, a comprehensive plan of action (JCPOA) was eventually concluded, which was also reflected in Security Council Resolution 2231. As a result of this resolution, relations between the West and Iran have reached the point where the international community no longer has any questions about Iran’s nuclear program. With Trump coming to power in the United States, the country withdrew from this agreement unilaterally. And despite this, Iran has never suspended its cooperation with the IAEA.

Iran has made great efforts to revive the comprehensive plan of action. But nothing happened on the western side. Despite the actions of these three Western states, Iran has always moved towards interaction and cooperation when it took any measures, announced in advance to the IAEA, and the international community. For example, about the percentage level of enrichment. Now some countries are again returning to the past business that happened 9-10 years ago.

They are looking for ways to apply political pressure and use the IAEA for political purposes. At the moment, these three European states are treating this technical body unfairly. Now I don’t want to raise the double standards of states in relation to other states. We just want this technical body to cooperate with us.

Again, despite our objections and the criticism that we have towards this organization, we continue to cooperate. The director general of this agency visited Iran. And we don’t want this agency to turn into a political one.

Therefore, we must ensure that the IAEA has its own mechanisms that can work without following any accusations. In fact, Iran should take action based on the agreement that was reached before. And if the USA had not withdrawn from the comprehensive plan of action unilaterally, and both European countries and Western countries had fulfilled their obligations, this situation would not have existed. But they did not honor their obligations.

Nevertheless, Iran does everything by informing the IAEA in advance. This is an important point - Iran is still operating within the IAEA.

What is the reliable number of additional centrifuges, and in what places are they installed?

I cannot say how many, since I am not an expert in this field. But I know that we have nuclear facilities that operate under the auspices of the IAEA.

What are your plans for the underground plant in Fordow?

Regarding underground facilities, this is all within the framework of safety. If you remember the 10 years before the comprehensive agreement, we were threatened every year. There were also sabotage actions that were mentioned in the media.

Underground objects are exclusively non-military objects - these are scientific objects that can be located in Iran, Kazakhstan, or another state. At the moment, information that Iran is not acting within the framework of the plan is exaggerated. In fact, it is the Western countries that are part of the agreement that have violated their obligations and actions of this agreement. There is a scientific reactor in Tehran that consumes fuel. When the transfer of fuel to us was suspended, we began to produce it ourselves.

Therefore, I say that the atmosphere in the media of Western countries is heating up, but we must look at the natural rights of the state in terms of the peaceful use of energy.

To use the atom, a mechanism has been defined by an organization such as the IAEA. If Western countries did not use it for political purposes, many countries could use the scientific potential of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Why do you enrich uranium?

As you know, nuclear energy has very wide scientific applications for peaceful purposes. It (energy) is used in agriculture, medicine, and many other areas. Some states have nuclear weapons but claim to use them for peaceful purposes. It is quite strange to ask where we use it, considering that we are a member country of the IAEA. Nuclear energy is very widely used in agriculture and industry. The use of nuclear energy in the modern world is one of the indicators of state development.

For example, more than 15 years ago, when we asked other states for fuel supplies, no one handed them over. In this regard, we have found the opportunity to enrich uranium from 5 to 20%.

Therefore, asking for what purposes we enrich uranium is incorrect. Since Iran always acts within the framework of the IAEA, within the framework of agreements and its obligations.

If you see an agricultural institute in Iran that is using nuclear energy, also using it in medicine, you will witness for yourself how widely it is used.

I can say with confidence that anti-cancer drugs are produced in Iran.

Today, when we are faced with serious illnesses, if previously we turned to other states, now we decide for ourselves and treat serious illnesses.

Is enriched uranium exported from Iran?

No, it is not exported. But in the P5+1 agreement, it was decided that part of the uranium would be exported. But so far this is not working. Unfortunately, due to the behavior of Western countries, this process has stalled.

Early presidential elections will be held in Iran soon. How are the preparations going?

As you know from history, one of the characteristic features of Iran is that at any time, even despite the period of Saddam Hussein’s aggressive war against Iran, elections at any level were never suspended. Unfortunately, this year, after the death of our president, elections were scheduled ahead of schedule for the near future - the end of June, according to the plan they were supposed to take place next year. According to our Constitution and laws, within 50 days after the death/resignation of the president, we are preparing for the next elections.

Elections involve different political opinions and groups. If you are in Iran, you will be able to observe election activity.

Earlier, you noted that Kazakhstan is a priority direction of your foreign policy. How is bilateral cooperation developing?

You correctly noted that Kazakhstan is a priority area of ​​foreign policy for us, and we have many areas of cooperation. It should be noted that our relations are connected for a geographical reason; we are neighbors on the Caspian Sea. We are also united by a centuries-old history. At the political level we have developed good relations, in the international arena we also have good cooperative relationships, and at the level of contacts between presidents there is good cooperation. But, unfortunately, at the level of economic and trade cooperation we do not interact at the level of potential that we have. At the level of nations and the academic sphere (students), we have a minimal level of relationships. This increases the responsibility of the Kazakh Embassy in Iran, also with your help, with the help of the media, specifically the Kazinform News Agency, we would like everyone to contribute to the growth of relations.

We are strategic partners, so the more cooperation develops and strengthens, the better for us.

At the moment, we are not yet working at the level at which our Presidents - Mr. Tokayev and our outgoing president - gave us instructions. They gave us a lot of instructions to increase the growth of interaction.

Therefore, we, diplomats and the media, must together strive to expand relations. It should also be noted that no matter who becomes the President of Iran, Kazakhstan will occupy a special place in our foreign policy, and priority will always be given to the development of relations with Kazakhstan.