Iranian opposition leader: A general statement lacking Khamenei's official approval does not block Tehran's path to obtaining the bomb

PARIS, April 3, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following the announcement of P5+1 and Iran in Lausanne, Switzerland regarding the framework for a comprehensive agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, the main Iranian opposition movement said a general statement lacking the official blessing and approval of the Iranian regime's supreme leader does not block Tehran's path to obtaining nuclear weapons.

Maryam Rajavi, president of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), said that the agreement represented a retreat by Tehran and "was prompted by fear and pressure and blatantly contradicts the foundations and guidelines the regime's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had announced personally two weeks ago." She described it as a "step toward drinking the chalice of nuclear poison," by Tehran.

The NCRI, the coalition of Iranian dissidents, is credited for exposing the Natanz uranium enrichment plan and heavy water plutonium reactor in Arak. Over the past decade, NCRI has made dozens of revelations about Iran's illicit nuclear activities.

On February 24 the NCRI disclosed the existence of a clandestine site called Lavizan-3 in Tehran. According to the opposition, Tehran has been secretly enriching uranium at this site using advanced centrifuges for years.

The Iranian opposition leader warned the West that continuing negotiations with Tehran "in the framework of appeasement will not make the region and the world secure from the threat of nuclear proliferation."  According to Rajavi: "leniency and unwarranted concessions by the P5+1 to the least trustworthy regime in the world today only grants it more time and further aggravates the dangers it poses to the Iranian people, to the region and to the wider world."

She suggested that compelling Tehran  "to abide by United Nations Security Council resolutions is simply the only way to prevent the mullahs from obtaining nuclear weapons ... it is common knowledge that the religious fascism ruling Iran has heavily invested in obtaining nuclear weapons to guarantee its survival."

Iran and P5+1 signed an interim agreement in November 2014. They have been engaged in extensive negotiations. The West doubts that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, while Tehran insists that its nuclear program is solely civilian. 

According to the Iranian opposition leader "the process of negotiations since 2002 until now, in particular the marathon of talks in the 18 months, palpably affirms the reality that the clerical regime only understands the language of firmness and power."

SOURCE Iran News Update