Larijani: If Snapback Is Implemented, Cooperation with the Agency Will Cease

According to Rokna, Ali Larijani, in a detailed interview with producers of the U.S. PBS documentary program who had traveled to Iran, warned: “If the snapback mechanism is implemented, we will end our cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.”

On August 27, three European members of the JCPOA (Germany, France, and the United Kingdom), claiming Iran’s failure to fulfill its commitments under the agreement and its lack of cooperation with the IAEA, sent a letter to the UN Security Council, initiating the process of activating the snapback mechanism to restore Security Council resolutions against Iran. Those sanctions, terminated in 2015 under Resolution 2231 and the JCPOA, would automatically be reimposed on Iran on September 27 if the process proceeds.

Iran Will Never Surrender

In his interview, Larijani stressed: “We have pursued every possible option and mechanism to resolve this crisis peacefully.” The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council also warned U.S. President Donald Trump against any military action against the Islamic Republic of Iran, stating that “Iran will never surrender.”

PBS’s September 22 (Shahrivar 31) interview with Ali Larijani, parts of which have been released, was part of the recent visit of the Frontline team to Iran. PBS reported that the Frontline team, during their trip to Tehran to produce a documentary, was permitted to visit sites that had been targeted during the war, though they were not allowed to visit nuclear facilities allegedly targeted by the United States. Nevertheless, they were able to film at locations where Iranian scientists had been assassinated, speak with witnesses and families of the victims, and visit non-nuclear energy infrastructure that had been bombed.

According to this report, Larijani stated in the interview that he had no specific information to provide regarding the extent of damage inflicted on Iran’s nuclear sites by recent U.S. attacks or to what degree these strikes had set back the nuclear program.

Iran’s Nuclear Program Cannot Be Destroyed

Larijani nonetheless added: “In my view, Iran’s nuclear program can never be destroyed. Once you have acquired knowledge, no one can take that discovery from you. It is like inventing a machine — even if that machine is stolen, you still retain the ability to build it again.”

The American daily Washington Post recently made allegations about activity at an underground site south of Natanz, known as Kuh-e-Kalang. Asked whether these activities were related to joint U.S.-Israeli attacks and whether he could provide details about this site, Larijani replied: “No, nothing. We have abandoned none of those sites. In the future, they may continue operating as they are now or they may be shut down.”

U.S. and Israel Have Turned Talks into a Ridiculous Show

Larijani further told Frontline that while “Iran has no intention of pursuing nuclear weapons — neither now nor in the future — U.S. and Israeli attacks over the summer turned the negotiations into a ‘ridiculous show.’”

Iran Deserves the Same Human Rights Claimed by Americans

When asked what he wanted the American people to understand about Iran’s nuclear program, he responded: “That they understand we deserve the same human rights they claim for themselves. That they should act justly and according to moral principles. Their behavior is pushing the world toward chaos, which ultimately harms themselves as well.”

He added: “The American people did not want to elect those who would send their soldiers to the grave. They must act rightly and wish for others what they wish for themselves.”