The Iranian Parliament (Majlis) announced in December its plan to force the world to lift international sanctions, which would justify and legalize nuclear extortion.

Since the announcement, the regime has only increased its violations of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), more commonly known as the 2015 nuclear deal.

“Iran has informed the Agency that in order to comply with a legal act recently passed by the country’s parliament, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran intends to produce low-enriched uranium (LEU) up to 20 percent at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant,” the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) wrote in a statement on January 1, according to Reuters.

The European signatories to the deal called this a “considerable departure” from the JCPOA, but, in reality, the regime has never abided by the deal. In 2017, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), which first exposed the regime’s nuclear program in 2002, revealed evidence to prove that Iran’s nuclear research and development never ended.

To Make Iran Compromise on Nuclear Issues, European Policy Should Focus Elsewhere 

The regime is now threatening to violate the “Additional Protocol” and expel IAEA inspectors on Wednesday, which is odd, considering they still claim that they never planned to build nuclear weapons, despite destroying evidence at a site just after the NCRI revealed it.

The regime’s motives are clear. They want Europe to offer them more concessions and for the U.S. to re-join the nuclear deal, but this should not happen. The regime has consistently violated the deal and will do so as long as they can gain concessions from it.

The West should remember that the regime is doing this because it fears an overthrow by the people because of the mullahs’ malign behavior, as previous uprisings in 2017 and 2019 have made clear.

They want concessions and nukes because they want to keep their hold on power and their knees on the Iranian people’s necks, but the people aren’t swallowing the lies about sanctions being responsible for their dire circumstances.

“While the regime’s ongoing human rights violations and export of terrorism have increased the regime is blackmailing the international community, by all means, possible,” the NCRI wrote.

“Seizure of the Korean ship in the Persian Gulf, breaching its nuclear commitments, and plotting terrorist operations on the European soil are all meant to force the international community to give in to the regime and lift the sanctions. The international community should not succumb to the regime’s nuclear extortion or terrorism,” the Iranian opposition added.

They advised that the international community impose six United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iran’s nuclear program and end the regime’s nuclear activities.

Tehran’s Secrecy Leaves No Room for Optimism