Iran surprised enemies with move on nuclear deal: IRGC Commander
Chief Commander of Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Hussein Salami has said that the United States and allies have been taken by surprise by Iran’s recent decision to suspend parts of its commitments under an international nuclear deal, saying Washington expected Tehran to surrender in the face of mounting pressures.
Speaking to a group of IRGC staff and commanders in Tehran on Saturday,Salami said the US and allies never thought Iran would manage to resist against their pressures once they began to backtrack on their commitments under the nuclear deal signed in 2015 between Iran and world powers.
“They thought Iran would not react, no matter how much they increase the pressure,” he said, adding, “but with Islamic republic’s recent decision and efforts, their hypothesis fell apart.”
The comments came following Iranian government’s announcement earlier this month indicating that the country would stop selling abroad its excess enriched uranium and heavy water.
The announcement came exactly one year after US president Donald Trump pulled his government out of the 2015 nuclear deal, technically known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Iran has argued for the past year that other parties to the JCPOA have failed to do their share of their agreement to protect it from negative impacts of US sanctions. Tehran has set a two-month deadline for other parties to the deal to either correct the terms of the agreement or face Iran resume its uranium enrichment program.
Iran in full intelligence war with US
Elsewhere in his remarks, IRGC’s Salami said that Iran and the US have been locked in a serious war of intelligence.
“Today, we are in an atmosphere of a full-blown intelligence war with the US and the front of enemies of the Revolution and the Islamic system,” said Salami, adding, “This atmosphere is a combination of psychological warfare and cyber operation, military provocations, public diplomacy and intimidation tactics.”
The IRGC has become a main target of US sanctions against Iran, especially since Trump’s administration blacklisted the organization last month. Responding to the move, Iran has also designated United States Central Command (CENTCOM) as a terrorist entity.
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