BEHIND THE IRAN HEADLINES Series, June 7, 2023, Alireza Jafarzadeh, NCRI-US Deputy Director
Today, a letter exchange, obtained from the office of the Iranian regime’s president, Ebrahim Raisi, was released, by a Telegram channel known as @ghyamsarnegouni, meaning “Rise to Overthrow,” which is a group that has previously released numerous authentic documents from various government agencies in Iran.
First, is a handwritten letter from the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, AEOI, Mohammad Eslami, dated November 27, 2022, to the Iranian regime’s president, Ebrahim Raisi seeking clarification on how the additional 2 billion Euros for expansion of AEOI activities in the current fiscal year 1402, which started on March 20, 2023, will be paid.
The second is a typed-up official letter, dated November 29, 2022 by Gholam Hossein Esmaili, Chief of Staff for Raisi, addressed to Masoud Mirkazemi, the head of the Program and Budget Organization. In this response, Raisi actually approves the proposed 2 billion Euros to be paid, as Eslami had suggested.
These documents show that the Iranian regime has constantly been expanding its nuclear weapons program, which has always been camouflaged as a civil nuclear energy program. This request was made at the height of the Iran uprising, when corruption and lack of economic resources was a key factor contributing to the protests. Yet, the regime was willing to add 2 billion euros to expand its nuclear program instead of spending it to improve the lives of its citizens.
These documents also show that any sanctions’ relief would end up funding Tehran’s nuclear weapons program.
The additional two billion Euros overlaps with Tehran’s strategy of dashing toward building the nuclear Bomb while evading accountability for its nuclear defiance. Obtaining a nuclear weapon would act as the guarantee for the survival of the Iranian regime at a time when it is facing continuous rounds of uprisings by the Iranian people who are seeking an end to the rule of the clerics.