-THE TIMELINE-

SHAFIQ ZUNNUR SAKIMIN

2011614792
1950s- Nuclear Program Begins
Iran begins a civilian nuclear program in the 1950s, led by Shah Mohammed Reza
Pahlavi, who reaches a deal through the Eisenhower administration's Atoms for
Peace program. Under the agreement, the United States agrees to provide a
nuclear research reactor in Tehran and power plants.

July 1, 1968- Iran Signs Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
With the American-provided research reactor running, starting in 1967, Iran
becomes one of 51 nations to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, agreeing
to never become a nuclear-weapon state.

Jan. 16, 1979- Shah Flees
The shah is overthrown and flees the country, in what becomes known as the
Islamic Revolution of 1979. Prime Minister Shahpur Bakhtiar takes over and
cancels the $6.2 billion contract for the construction of two nuclear power plants
at the Bushehr complex. The United States retracts a deal it had made with Iran a
year earlier and stops supplying enriched uranium for the Tehran research reactor.

Feb. 11, 1979- Khomeini Comes to Power
Prime Minister Bakhtiar is overthrown by followers of Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini, an exiled cleric, after bloody clashes in Tehran. The new leader is
uninterested in the nuclear program and ends the shah's effort. Many nuclear
experts flee the country. Any nuclear cooperation between Iran and the United
States breaks down completely with the American Embassy hostage crisis from
November 1979 until January 1981

1984- Nuclear Program Restarts
The Iran-Iraq war, from 1980 to 1988, changes Iran's thinking about the nuclear program.
With Saddam Hussein pursuing a nuclear program in Iraq, Ayatollah Khomeini secretly
decides to restart Iran's program and seeks the assistance of German partners to complete
the construction at Bushehr, which was damaged by bombs during the war.

Late 1980s- Help From Pakistani Scientist
In the late 1980s, Abdul Qadeer Khan, a Pakistani metallurgist and the father of Pakistans
nuclear weapons program, sells Iran, North Korea and Libya his uranium enrichment
technology, and in Libya's case, a bomb design. The transactions do not become public until
years later. In 2005, the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency is on the verge
of reviewing Tehran's nuclear program when Iranian officials admit to a 1987 meeting with
Dr. Khan's representatives. But Tehran tells the agency that it turned down the chance to
buy the equipment required to build the core of a bomb.

June 4, 1989- New Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country's nominal president for eight years, becomes supreme
leader after Ayatollah Khomeini dies.

Jan. 8, 1995- Iran and Russia Sign Nuclear Contract
Iran announces that it will sign an $800 million contract with Russia to complete
construction on one of two light water reactors at the Bushehr nuclear plant within four
years. After many delays, the project was completed in 2010. The United States has been
persuading countries like Argentina, India, Spain, Germany and France to prohibit the sale of
nuclear technology to Iran's civilian program.


July 1996- Sanctions Against Iran and Libya
With growing intelligence estimates that Iran may secretly be trying to build a nuclear weapon,
President Bill Clinton signs a bill imposing sanctions on foreign companies with investments in Iran
and Libya. Such rules are already in place for American companies

May 1999- Proposal for Nuclear-Free Mideast
President Mohammad Khatami of Iran goes to Saudi Arabia, becoming the first Iranian leader since
1979 to visit the Arab world. He issues a joint statement with King Fahd expressing concerns about
Israel's nuclear weapons program and support for ridding the Middle East of nuclear weapons. In
2003, Iran supports such a proposal initiated by Syria.

2002- Discovery of Secret Plants
Mujahedeen Khalq, an Iranian dissident group also known as the M.E.K., obtains and shares
documents revealing a clandestine nuclear program previously unknown to the United Nations. The
program includes a vast uranium enrichment plant at Natanz and a heavy water plant at Arak. In
December, satellite photographs of Natanz and Arak appear widely in the news media. The United
States accuses Tehran of an "across-the-board pursuit of weapons of mass destruction," but takes
relatively little action because it is focused on the approaching invasion of Iraq the next year. Iran
agrees to inspections by the I.A.E.A. It also signs an accord with Russia to speed up completion of the
nuclear power plant at Bushehr.

2003- Nuclear Program Is Suspended
Possibly in response to the American invasion of Iraq, which was originally justified by the Bush
administration on the grounds that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, Ayatollah Khamenei
orders a suspension of work on what appear to be weapons-related technologies, although he
allows uranium enrichment efforts to continue. Inspectors with the United Nations atomic agency
find traces of highly enriched uranium at the Natanz plant, and Iran concedes to demands,after talks
with Britain, France and Germany, to accept stricter international inspections of its nuclear sites and
to suspend production of enriched uranium.

Nov. 7, 2004- Violation and New Agreement
Iran violates the agreement, charging that the Europeans reneged on their promises of
economic and political incentives. After 22 hours of negotiations, an Iranian delegation and
senior officials from France, Germany, Britain and the European Union come to a preliminary
agreement to immediately suspend Iran's production of enriched uranium. The Iranian foreign
minister, Kamal Kharrazi, praises the so-called Paris Agreement but emphasizes that any
suspension will be temporary. In a few weeks, the I.A.E.A verifies Iran's suspension of its
enrichment activities, with one exception: its request to use up to 20 sets of centrifuge
components for research and development.

Mid-July, 2005- With Laptop Files, U.S. Seeks to Prove Iran's Nuclear Aims
Senior American intelligence officials present the International Atomic Energy Agency with the
contents of what they say is a stolen Iranian laptop containing more than a thousand pages of
Iranian computer simulations and accounts of experiments -- studies for crucial features of a
nuclear warhead. Intelligence reports reveal that Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a little-known Iranian
scientist, leads elements of Iran's weaponization program known as Project 110 and Project
111. But doubts about the intelligence persist among some experts, in part because American
officials, citing the need to protect their source, have largely refused to provide details of the
origins of the laptop beyond saying that they obtained it in mid-2004 from a source in Iran who
they said had received it from a second person, now believed to be dead.

Aug. 3, 2005- Ahmadinejad Elected President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, known only as a secular conservative and a former mayor of Tehran,
becomes president. He becomes a divisive figure in world affairs, cheering on the development
of Irans nuclear program despite orders from the United Nations Security Council to halt it,
calling for Israel to be wiped off the map' and describing the Holocaust as a myth.

January 2006- Natanz Production Is Restarted
Iran resumes uranium enrichment at Natanz after negotiations with European and American
officials collapse. The I.A.E.A. approves a resolution to report Iran's nuclear program to the
Security Council, citing the absence of confidence" among the atomic agency's members
"that Irans nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes.

Iran Opens a Heavy-Water Reactor
Just days before Iran is supposed to suspend enrichment of uranium or face the prospect of
sanctions, President Ahmadinejad formally kicks off a heavy-water production plant in Arak,
120 miles southwest of Tehran, which would put Iran on the path to obtaining plutonium, a
fuel used in nuclear weapons. In November, Iran seeks international assistance to ensure safe
operation for a 40-megawatt reactor it is building. Citing broader doubts about Iran's nuclear
ambitions, the United Nations atomic agency, the United States and European countries
oppose offering help.

Aug. 26, 2006- Iran Opens a Heavy-Water Reactor
Just days before Iran is supposed to suspend enrichment of uranium or face the prospect of
sanctions, President Ahmadinejad formally kicks off a heavy-water production plant in Arak,
120 miles southwest of Tehran, which would put Iran on the path to obtaining plutonium, a
fuel used in nuclear weapons. In November, Iran seeks international assistance to ensure safe
operation for a 40-megawatt reactor it is building. Citing broader doubts about Iran's nuclear
ambitions, the United Nations atomic agency, the United States and European countries
oppose offering help.

December 2006- First Round of U.N. Sanctions
The Security Council unanimously approves sanctions intended to curb Irans nuclear
program. The sanctions ban the import and export of materials and technology used in
uranium enrichment and reprocessing and in the production of ballistic missiles.

2008- U.S. - Israel Cyberattacks Begin
President George W. Bush rejects a secret request by Israel for specialized bunker-busting bombs it
wants for an attack on Irans nuclear program. The Bush administration is alarmed by the Israeli idea to
fly over Iraq to reach Irans major nuclear complex at Natanz and decides to step up intelligence-sharing
with Israel and brief Israeli officials on new American efforts to subtly sabotage Irans nuclear
infrastructure. Mr. Bush will hand off the major covert program to President Obama. The United States
works with Israel to begin cyberattacks, code-named Olympic Games, on computer systems at the
Natanz plant. A year later, the program is introduced undetected into a controller computer at Natanz.
Centrifuges begin crashing and engineers have no clue that the plant is under attack.

July 19, 2008- Talks End in Deadlock
International talks on Iran's nuclear ambitions end in deadlock despite the Bush administrations
decision to reverse policy and send William J. Burns, a senior American official, to the table for the first
time. Iran responds with a written document that fails to address the main issue: international demands
that it stop enriching uranium. Iranian diplomats reiterate before the talks that they consider the issue
nonnegotiable.

April 8, 2009- U.S. Joins Regular Iran Talks
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announces that the United States will participate in talks with
Iran involving five other nations: Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia

September 2009- Warning on Nuclear Deception
American, British and French officials declassify some of their most closely held intelligence and describe
a multiyear Iranian effort, tracked by spies and satellites, to build a secret uranium enrichment plant
deep inside a mountain. The new plant, which Iran strongly denies is intended to be kept secret or used
for making weapons, is months from completion and does nothing to shorten intelligence estimates of
how long it would take Iran to produce a bomb. American intelligence officials say it will take at least a
year, perhaps five, for Iran to develop the full ability to make a nuclear weapon.

January 2010- Leaked Gates Memo on U.S. Policy
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates warns in a secret three-page memorandum to top White House
officials that the United States does not have an effective long-range policy for dealing with Iran's
steady progress toward nuclear capability. When the memo becomes public in April, Mr. Gates issues
a statement saying that he wishes to dispel any perception among allies that the administration had
failed to adequately think through how to deal with Iran.

February 2010- Work on Warhead
The United Nations nuclear inspectors declare for the first time that they have extensive evidence of
past or current undisclosed activities by Irans military to develop a nuclear warhead. The report
also concludes that some Iranian weapons-related activity apparently continued beyond 2004,"
contradicting an American intelligence assessment published in 2008 that concluded that work on a
bomb was suspended at the end of 2003.

Summer 2010- Computer Worms Leak Online; 1,000 Centrifuges Destroyed
The United States and Israel realize that copies of the computer sabotage program introduced in
Natanz are available on the Internet, where they are replicating quickly. In a few weeks, articles
appear in the news media about a mysterious new computer worm carried on USB keys that exploits
a hole in the Windows operating system. The worm is named Stuxnet. President Obama decides not
to kill the program, and a subsequent attack takes out nearly 1,000 Iranian centrifuges, nearly a fifth
of those operating.

June 2010- U.N. Approves New Sanctions
The United Nations Security Council levels its fourth round of sanctions against Irans nuclear
program. The sanctions curtail military purchases, trade and financial transactions carried out by the
Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which controls the nuclear program. The Security Council also
requires countries to inspect ships or planes headed to or from Iran if they suspect banned cargo. In
addition, Iran is barred from investing in other countries' nuclear enrichment plants, uranium mines
and related technologies, and the Security Council sets up a committee to monitor enforcement.

July 15, 2010- Iranian Scientist Defects to U.S., Then Reconsiders
Shahram Amiri, an Iranian nuclear scientist who American officials say defected to the United
States in 2009, provided information about Iran's nuclear weapons program and then
developed second thoughts, returning to Iran. (After a hero's welcome, he was imprisoned
on treason charges and tortured, according to reports from Iran.) The bizarre episode was
the latest in a tale that has featured a mysterious disappearance from a hotel room in Saudi
Arabia, rumors of a trove of new intelligence about Iran's nuclear plants and a series of
contradictory YouTube videos. It immediately set off a renewed propaganda war between
Iran and the United States.

Nov. 29, 2010- Bombings Strike Scientists in Iran
Unidentified attackers riding motorcycles bomb two of Iran's top nuclear scientists, killing
one and prompting accusations that the United States and Israel are again trying to disrupt
Iran's nuclear program. The scientist who was killed, Majid Shahriari, reportedly managed a
''major project'' for the country's Atomic Energy Organization. His wounded colleague,
Fereydoon Abbasi, is believed to be even more important; he is on the United Nations
Security Council's sanctions list for ties to the Iranian nuclear effort.

November 2011- West Expands Sanctions, and U.N. Offers Evidence on Nuclear Work
Major Western powers take significant steps to cut Iran off from the international financial
system, announcing coordinated sanctions aimed at its central bank and commercial banks.
The United States also imposes sanctions on companies involved in Irans nuclear industry, as
well as on its petrochemical and oil industries. The United Nations atomic agency releases
evidence that it says make a credible case that Iran has carried out activities relevant to
the development of a nuclear device at its Parchin military base and that the project may
still be under way.

December 2011- Natanz Plant Recovers
After a dip in enriched uranium production in 2010 because of the cyberattacks, Iranian
production recovers. While the United States and Israel never acknowledged
responsibility for the cyberprogram, Olympic Games, some experts argue that it set the
Iranians back a year or two. Others say that estimate overstates the effect. With the
program still running, intelligence agencies in the United States and Israel seek out new
targets that could further slow Irans progress.

A Blow to U.S., as Drone Crashes
A stealth C.I.A. drone, the RQ-170 Sentinel, crashes near the Iranian town of Kashmar,
140 miles from the Afghan border. It is part of a stepped-up surveillance program that
has frequently sent the United States most hard-to-detect drone into Iran to map
suspected nuclear sites. Iran asserts that its military downed the aircraft, but American
officials say the drone was lost because of a malfunction.

Jan. 11, 2012- Bomb Kills Nuclear Scientist
A bomber on a motorcycle kills Mostafa Ahmadi Rosha, a scientist from the Natanz site,
and his bodyguard. Iran blames Israel and the United States. The Americans deny the
accusation, but Israel is more circumspect.

March 2012- New Centrifuges at Natanz
Iran says it is building about 3,000 advanced uranium-enrichment centrifuges at the
Natanz plant. Meanwhile, I.A.E.A. inspectors are still trying to gain access to the Parchin
site, 20 miles south of Tehran, to ascertain whether tests have been carried out there on
nuclear bomb triggers. But satellites images show that the site has been extensively
cleaned by the Iranians.


May 24, 2012- Talks With West Falter
After a brief spurt of optimism, talks between Iran and six world powers on its disputed nuclear
program fail to produce a break through in Baghdad. The United States, Russia, China, Britain, France
and Germany wanted a freeze on Iranian production of uranium enriched to 20 percent purity, which
is considered a short step from bomb grade. The Iranians wanted an easing of the onerous economic
sanctions imposed by the West and a recognition of what they call their right to enrich. The
countries agree to meet again in June, but talks were further slowed after a new regimen of harsh
economic sanctions and a statement from the International Atomic Energy Agency that said Iran had
made ''no progress'' toward providing access to restricted sites it suspects of being used to test
potential triggers for nuclear warheads.

July 1, 2012- Embargo on Iranian Oil
A European Union embargo on Iranian oil takes effect, playing a large role in severely restricting
Iran's ability to sell its most important export. In retaliation, Iran announces legislation intended to
disrupt traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital Persian Gulf shipping lane, and tests missiles in a desert
drill clearly intended as a warning to Israel and the United States. In January 2013, Irans oil minister,
Rostam Qasemi, acknowledged for the first time that petroleum exports and sales had fallen by at
least 40 percent in the previous year, costing the country $4 billion to $8 billion each month.

August 2012- New Work at Nuclear Site
The United Nations atomic agency reports that Iran has installed three-quarters of the nuclear
centrifuges needed to complete a deep-underground site under a mountain near Qum for the
production of nuclear fuel. The I.A.E.A. also says that Iran may have sought to cleanse another site
where the agency has said it suspects that the country has conducted explosive experiments that
could be relevant to the production of a nuclear weapon. Meanwhile, the United States imposes
more punishing sanctions against Iran, aimed at its oil and petrochemical sectors, as well as its
shipping trade, intensifying existing sanctions intended to choke off the revenue that Iran reaps from
its two largest export industries.

Sept. 27, 2012- Israel's 'Red Line'
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel tells the United Nations that Irans
capability to enrich uranium must be stopped before the spring or early summer, arguing
that by that time Iran will be in a position to make a short, perhaps undetectable, sprint
to manufacture its first nuclear weapon.

October 2012- Iran's Currency Tumbles
After months of harsh, American-led sanctions, Iran's currency, the rial, plunges 40
percent. The currency lost about half its value in 2012. Most of that decline comes in a
frenzy of speculative selling by Iranians worried that rapid inflation could render their
money worthless. The government responds with a crackdown in which some money
traders are arrested. The depressed value of the rial forces Iranians to carry ever-fatter
wads of bank notes to buy everyday items. But the sanctions also present a new
complication to Iran's banking authorities: they may not be able to print enough money.
Meanwhile, the European Union toughens sanctions against Iran, banning trade in
industries like finance, metals and natural gas, and making other business transactions far
more cumbersome.

Feb. 6, 2013- U.S. Bolsters Sanctions
A new round of American sanctions take effect which state that any country that buys
Iranian oil must put the purchase money into a local bank account. Iran cannot repatriate
the money and can use it only to buy goods within that country. Violators risk severe
penalties in doing business with the United States. Oil exports from Iran have already
dropped by a million barrels a day. A week earlier, Iran announces that it would deploy a
new generation of centrifuges, four to six times as powerful as the current generation.


Feb. 23, 2013- New Deposits of Uranium
The state news agency IRNA quotes a report by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, saying that it
had found significant new deposits of raw uranium and identified sites for 16 more nuclear power
stations. Irans raw uranium reserves now total around 4,400 tons, including discoveries over the
past 18 months, IRNA quoted the report as saying. A few weeks earlier, Ayatollah Khamenei said that
his country was not seeking nuclear weapons but added that if Iran ever decided to build them, no
global power could stop it.

April 12, 2013- US Blacklists an Iranian and Businesses Over Violation of Sanctions
The United States blacklists an affluent Iranian business executive, Babak Morteza Zanjani, and what
it describes as his multibillion-dollar money laundering network, accusing them of selling oil for Iran
in violation of the Western economic sanctions imposed over Irans disputed nuclear program. On
March 14, The Treasury Department, which administers the governments Iran sanctions, blacklisted
a Greek shipping tycoon, Dimitris Cambis, over what it called his scheme to acquire a fleet of oil
tankers on Irans behalf and disguise their ownership to ship Iranian oil.

April 18, 2013- Israeli Officials Stress Readiness for Lone Strike on Iran
In an interview with the BBC, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke of dealing with the Iranian
nuclear threat, saying Israel has different vulnerabilities and different capabilities than the United
States. We have to make our own calculations, when we lose the capacity to defend ourselves by
ourselves. Israeli defense and military officials have been issuing explicit warnings this week that
Israel was prepared and had the capability to carry out a lone military strike against Irans nuclear
facilities.

U.S. Arms Deal with Israel and 2 Arab Nations Is Near
The Defense Department is expecting to finalize a $10 billion arms deal with Israel, Saudi Arabia and
the United Arab Emirates next week that will provide missiles, warplanes and troop transports to
help them counter any future threat from Iran.

April 23, 2013- Fearing Price Increases, Iranians Hoard Goods
Iranians rush to supermarkets to buy cooking oil, red meat and other staples, stockpiling the
goods over new fears of price spikes from a change in the official exchange rate that could
severely reduce the already weakened purchasing power of the rial, the national currency.
Prices of staples are set to increase by as much as 60 percent because of the currency
change. Economists say the result is from a combination of severe Western sanctions and
what many call the governments economic mismanagement.

May 9, 2013- U.S. Imposes Sanctions on Those Aiding Iran
The United States expands its roster of those violating Iran sanctions, blacklisting four Iranian
companies and one individual suspected of helping the country enrich nuclear fuel. It also
singles out two other companies, including a Venezuelan-Iranian bank, accused of helping
Iran evade other Western-imposed prohibitions on oil sales and financial dealings. The
penalties came a day after the Senate introduced legislation that could effectively deny the
Iran government access to an estimated $100 billion worth of its own money parked in
overseas banks, a step that proponents said could significantly damage Irans financial
stability.

May 22, 2013- Iran Is Seen Advancing Nuclear Bid
The I.A.E.A. says Iran has made significant progress across the board in its nuclear program,
while negotiations with the West dragged on this spring. But it said that it has not gone past
the "red line" that Israels leaders have declared could trigger military action. In its last
report before the Iranian elections next month, the agency also gives details that point to an
emerging production strategy by the Iranians. One strategy involves speeding ahead with
another potential route to a bomb: producing plutonium. The report indicates that Iran is
making significant progress at its Arak complex, where it has built a heavy-water facility and
is expected to have a reactor running by the end of next year.

June 2013- U.S. Adds to Its List of Sanctions Against Iran
The Obama administration escalates sanctions against Iran for the fourth time in a week,
blacklisting what it describes as a global network of front companies controlled by Irans top
leaders, accusing them of hiding assets and generating billions of dollars worth of revenue to
help Tehran evade sanctions. The White House also accuses Ayatollah Ali Khamenei of
personally directing an effort to bypass them. The United States also blacklists Iranian
petrochemical companies, its automotive industry and more than 50 Iranian officials, and
threatens to sanction foreign banks that trade or hold Irans national currency, the rial.

June 15, 2013- Iran Elects New President
Voters overwhelmingly elect Hassan Rouhani, 64, a mild-mannered cleric who advocates
greater personal freedoms and a more conciliatory approach to the world. The diplomat
sheikh played a key role in Irans voluntary suspension of uranium enrichment in 2004, which
Western powers responded to by asking for more concessions from Iran. Mr. Rouhani replaces
his predecessors' foreign minister with Mohammad Javad Zarif, an American-educated
diplomat known for his understanding of the West, and makes him responsible for
negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. Mr. Rouhani also removes a hard-line nuclear
scientists as head of Irans Atomic Energy Organization, and replaces him with the former
foreign minister, Ali Akbar Salehi. In September, Irans longtime ambassador to the
International Atomic Energy Agency will be replaced as well.

Aug. 28, 2013- Iran Slows Its Gathering of Enriched Uranium, Report Says
I.A.E.A. inspectors say that Iran is slowing its accumulation of enriched uranium that can be
quickly turned into fuel for an atomic bomb. The report's disclosure is significant politically
because it delays the day when Iran could breach what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of
Israel last fall called a red line beyond which Iran would not be allowed to pass the point
at which it has enough purified uranium to quickly make a single nuclear weapon.

Sept. 19, 2013- Iran Said to Seek a Nuclear Accord to End Sanctions
Seizing on a perceived flexibility in a letter from President Obama to President
Hassan Rouhani, Irans leaders are focused on getting quick relief from crippling
sanctions, a top adviser to the Iranian leadership says. The adviser says that Mr.
Obamas letter, delivered about three weeks ago, promised relief from sanctions
if Tehran demonstrated a willingness to cooperate with the international
community, keep your commitments and remove ambiguities.

Sept. 24, 2013- Rouhani, Blunt and Charming, Pitches a Moderate Iran in First
U.N. Appearance
Iran's new president, Hassan Rouhani, turns himself into a high-speed salesman
offering a flurry of speeches, tweets, televised interviews and carefully curated
private meetings, intended to end Iran's economic isolation. At the United
Nations General Assembly, he preaches tolerance and understanding, decries as
a form of violence the Western sanctions imposed on his country and says
nuclear weapons have no place in its future.

Jan. 12, 2014- Negotiators Put Final Touches on Iran Accord
Iran and a group of six world powers complete a deal that will temporarily freeze
much of Tehrans nuclear program starting Jan. 20, in exchange for limited relief
from Western economic sanctions. The agreement faced opposition from
Iranian hard-liners and Israeli leaders, as well as heavy criticism from some
American lawmakers, who have threatened to approve further sanctions despite
President Obamas promise of a veto.

Hassan Rouhani on Nuclear issue
Rouhani's main electoral pledge was to improve the economy. The
lifting of sanctions is key to that objective,
the Islamic Republic has decided not to develop nuclear weapons
out of principle, not only because it is prevented from doing so by
treaties.
President Hassan Rouhani also urged Irans military leaders to let
diplomacy prevail in dealing with potential foreign threats, in a clear
reference to efforts to end the nuclear dispute and decades of
hostile relations with the west.
Iran is a signatory to the NPT and says it will remain committed to
its obligations not to build nuclear weapons under the treaty but
will not compromise on its right to enrich uranium and produce
nuclear fuel.
He facing growing criticism from a broad array of political hardliners
and rightwing opponents who say his government is being duped
by the US in an over-hasty attempt to clinch a nuclear deal with the
west and end economic sanctions.


Hassan Rouhani on Nuclear issue (cont)
Rouhani said his governments policy of moderation and easing
tensions with the outside world is not a tactic but a genuine
change in the Islamic Republics foreign policy.
The foreign policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is based on easing
tensions and building confidence with the world. This is not a tactic
or slogan. Iran is not seeking tensions with others but we dont
compromise on our dignity, independence, national interests and
values
That policy, also supported by Khamenei, led to a historic interim
nuclear deal with world powers on 24 November, in Geneva. Iran
stopped enriching uranium to 20% and started neutralizing its
existing stockpile of that grade just steps away from weapons
material in January, in order to fulfill commitments reached under
the deal. The US and the European Union also lifted some sanctions
in response to the Iranian moves