Iranians welcome Rouhani's 'nuclear response' to US efforts to extend sanctions
Iran's divided factions jointly welcome President Hassan Rouhani’s order for work to begin on designing and manufacturing nuclear engines.
In response to the United States' renewal of the Iran Sanctions Act (ISA), President Hassan Rouhani ordered his top nuclear negotiators to take international measures and to begin developing a nuclear propulsion system used in “marine transportation.”
On Dec. 13, Iran’s official news agency IRNA published Rouhani’s separate letters to Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization. Rouhani ordered Zarif to “seriously implement the anticipated steps in the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] for addressing violations and required legal and international proceeding.”
Rouhani called on Salehi to “further develop Iran’s peaceful nuclear program within the framework of the international commitments of the Islamic Republic of Iran.” In this vein, Rouhani specifically asked Salehi to “plan for designing and manufacturing [a] nuclear engine to be used in marine transportation with the help of scientific and research centers” as well as to “study and design [the] production of fuel to be used by the nuclear engine with the help of scientific and research centers.”
Rouhani asked Zarif to report back within a month and for Salehi to report back within three months.
