Experts fear Iran could increase nuclear proliferation  

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has ordered the country’s Atomic Energy Organisation to start planning the development of nuclear-powered vessels which would require Tehran to increase the enrichment of uranium.

The US administrations responded to the announcement to quell anxieties that further increase in the enrichment of uranium breached the nuclear deal. A senior US administration official told Arab News that “such an announcement does not run counter to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA),” and that the deal “allows more oversight and monitoring of Iran’s programme.”

However, according to the Saudi-based newspaper, experts see in Rouhani’s move a worrisome development that could jeopardise the agreement itself, or be used to gain leverage in its implementation.

Examining if the announcement was indeed a violation or an attempt to create new political leverage it quoted Ken Sofer, a senior policy adviser at the Centre for American Progress, who told Arab News that Rouhani’s move could be a play for leverage in the implementation of the nuclear deal.

“It’s possible Rouhani and Trump are simply signalling to one another in an attempt to gain greater leverage through the implementation process of the nuclear agreement,” Sofer said.

According to experts quoted by the Saudi news agency, the announcement itself is alarming.

Mark Dubowitz, executive director of the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, said: “I had predicted this last year that Iran would use the excuse of having a nuclear-powered fleet to justify the enrichment of uranium to around 60 per cent.”

The sanctions expert added: “This in fact is permitted by the JCPOA after 15 years, which demonstrates yet again how fatally flawed the nuclear deal is.”

Durbowitz also hinted at the alarming geopolitical ramifications that the development of the nuclear-fuelled warships could produce.

“This is very dangerous for regional security,” he said, and could prompt “Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Turkey to move in the direction of matching Iranian capability by building their own nuclear capacity.” The JCPOA’s goal was to avert this.