TEHRAN – A member of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee said on Friday that while the U.S. owns 98 nuclear reactors, it is the forerunner in objecting Iran’s nuclear program with only one reactor.

Pointing to reports of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Alireza Rahimi said the U.S. violated UN Security Council Resolution 2231 while it has more reactors than every other country on earth, IRNA reported.

Resolution 2231 endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that Iran struck with the 5+1 nations – the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany. 

Rahimi said the EU with 183 reactors has also adopted a tougher stance against Iran, he said.

Rahimi further explained that the U.S. with 98 reactors is the first in the world, followed by China with 46, Japan with 38, Russia with 36, South Korea with 24, and India with 22.

U.S. President Donald Trump abandoned the nuclear deal in May 2018 and returned the previous sanctions and imposed new ones against Iran.

On May 8, exactly one year after the U.S. withdrawal, Tehran began reducing its commitments to the JCPOA at bi-monthly intervals.

Meanwhile, European signatories to the JCPOA – the UK, France and Germany – have so far failed to provide meaningful economic incentives as required under the nuclear accord despite expressing vocal support for the deal.

MH/PA