Iran did not wreck reactor in line with deal: Official

By Mustafa Melih Ahishali

ISTANBUL

Iran never destroyed its Arak nuclear reactor, a precondition of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization (IAEO) was quoted as saying by state media.

IAEO chief Ali Akbar Salehi told a local television channel Thursday that the Arak facility’s heavy-water reactor had never been filled in with concrete -- in apparent violation of the 2015 agreement’s terms.

“We never filled the facility in with concrete,” he was quoted as saying. “If we had, it would have become inoperable.”

Rather, Salehi appeared to admit, “We only destroyed some fuel pipes, that looked like the reactor’s pipes, which had been prepared in advance.”

Salehi went on to assert that the move had been ordered by Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

“Only the supreme leader knew the situation at the time,” he said.

In 2015, Iran signed a landmark nuclear deal with the P5+1 group of nations (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany).

Under the terms of the deal, Iran was expected to destroy the Arak facility’s heavy-water reactor, nuclear fuel from which could theoretically be used for military purposes.