The Iranians will begin developing nuclear-powered vehicles that experts say could violate the nuclear deal between the country and western powers, according to a report Tuesday.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered scientists to begin developing nuclear-powered marine vehicles in response to Congress extending some sanctions on his country, according to Reuters. Rouhani believes that extension was a violation of the nuclear deal with Iran.
The development of these vehicles will require an enrichment of uranium that would exceed the parameters of the deal, experts said.
“On the basis of international experience, were Iran to go ahead with such a (nuclear propulsion) project, it would have to increase its enrichment level,” Mark Hibbs, nuclear expert and senior fellow at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Reuters.
The White House denied that Iran would violate the deal and the State Department said it’s confident independent observers would be able to inspect Iranian nuclear sites to confirm compliance with the deal.
John Kirby, a spokesman for the State Department, said it’s unlikely the Iranians are moving toward a nuclear weapon and developing nuclear-powered marine vehicles “would likely take decades to realize.”
However, civilian experts say the program could be a way to begin enriching uranium for the marine vehicles that could then be translated over to nuclear weapons.
Hibbs said Iran does not seem confident the deal will stick.
“That’s the point, because Iran would be looking for a non-weapons rationale to provocatively increase its enrichment level in the case that the deal with the powers comes unstuck,” he said.
