Deputy Director of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Mahmoud Jafari, announced today, Monday, that Tehran is heading towards closing the Bushehr nuclear power plant due to the continued sanctions and the inability of the country to finance it.

He also stressed that the Bushehr station could not continue to operate in light of the restrictions imposed on currency exchange and bank sanctions.

He stressed the impact of the “US maximum pressure policy” on the Iranian banking system, saying: “Given the prevailing conditions in international relations with Iran and the problems resulting from currency conversion due to the sanctions imposed on Iranian banks, there are problems in introducing and converting currency to meet their needs.”

In addition, he added, “If a solution to these problems is not found, the energy production of this unit will face serious problems this year and it is feared that it will stop operating suddenly.”

The Deputy Director of the Atomic Energy Organization pointed to the high prices of hard currencies and sanctions as the most important factors hindering the financing of the plant.

He also stressed that Iran has even faced a transfer of foreign exchange to the construction companies in Russia, which run the Bushehr plant.

Referring to the Iranian authorities ’inability to solve currency conversion problems, he said that despite the numerous correspondence and orders issued by the President and Vice President of the Republic, no tangible results have yet been obtained!

This comes at a time when several European countries are trying to persuade the United States and Iran to return to the negotiating table in order to revive the nuclear agreement, while the two sides insist on each side that the opposite party takes the first step first!