The head of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has said that Iran has no decision to resume what he claimed to be its military nuclear program.
In an interview with CBS, William Burns answered the question, “Do the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran have a decision to build nuclear weapons?”
He said that officials in Iran have so far not made the decision to resume what he called the weaponization program that they suspended, or stopped, at the end of 2003.
At the same time, by confirming the claim of 84% uranium enrichment in Iran, he claimed that Iran has advanced its enrichment program and, if they decide, they can reach 90% enrichment in just a few weeks. He also claimed that Iran has advanced missile systems capable of carrying nuclear weapons. While admitting that they have no evidence proving that Iran wants to resume the military nuclear program, he claimed that Iran is developing other aspects of its nuclear program.
The CIA chief’s confession has now put a question mark in front of the measures made by the U.S. and Europe against Iran’s peaceful nuclear program. While they admit that Tehran is not pursuing a military nuclear program based on their research and expertise, they have imposed the most severe sanctions against Iran.
Despite Iran’s decision to enter negotiations with world powers and sign a nuclear deal in 2015 as a goodwill gesture, the U.S. withdrew from the agreement during the presidency of Donald Trump in 2018 and adopted the policy of “maximum pressure” towards the Iranian people.
The excuse for all these pressures has been Iran’s attempt to achieve a military nuclear program. Now, however, the head of the CIA has admitted that Iran does not have such a program on its agenda.
Despite such an assessment of Iran’s nuclear program, the current U.S. administration continues to follow the path of Trump's administration and hinders efforts to revive the nuclear agreement.
It seems that the Western front led by the U.S. is fundamentally opposed to Iran’s nuclear capabilities in any form. However, having nuclear energy is the right of all countries, especially those who have signed the NPT treaty.
In the interview, William Burns has echoed Bloomberg’s claims of enrichment of uranium to 84% purity in Iran. Tehran has rejected the claim and recently allowed inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency to investigate its facilities.
The CIA chief’s reference to the progress of uranium enrichment in Iran’s facilities is not a secret matter. Following the withdrawal of the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear deal and the failure of the Europeans to fulfill their commitments under the agreement, Tehran gradually reduced the implementation of its commitments and increased the level of uranium enrichment to 60% in several stages.
There are reports that Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, plans to travel to Tehran in the coming days to discuss the safeguards issues. It is expected that, after this trip and the settlement of the safeguards issues, the stalled talks to revive the nuclear deal will be resumed. The CIA chief’s admission that Tehran has no decision for a military nuclear program can affect the stances of the European troika and Washington and help them abandon their excessive demands and their duplicate claims to reach a  satisfactory deal on Iran’s nuclear program.

China reported the first imports of Iranian crude oil in a year despite ongoing sanctions by the United States.
China brought in 260,312 tons of Iranian crude oil in December, according to data from the General Administration of Chinese Customs, which last recorded Iranian oil inflows in December 2020 at 520,000 tons, Reuters reported.
It was not immediately clear which company brought in the latest cargo, which is equal to the amount of oil that would fit onto one very large crude carrier (VLCC) tanker, and which terminal it was discharged into.
Unofficially, China's imports of Iranian oil had held above 500,000 barrels per day on average between August and October, as buyers judged that getting crude at competitive prices outweighed the risks of busting U.S. sanctions, Reuters reported in November.  
Imports from Iran have accounted for about 6% of China's crude oil imports, according to shipping data and trader estimates.

Iran's defense minister trans-regional countries’ interference of in the Middle East was aimed at ensuring Israel’s security as well as the flow of energy.
In a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Thabet Muhammad Saeed al-Abbasi in Tehran on Saturday, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani stressed that trans-regional states never seek to promote democracy but to create unnecessary crises, discord and conflicts in the region.
“Experience has proven that the presence of trans-regional countries in any part of the world has been accompanied by insecurity and division. This presence in our region is meant to ensure the flow of energy and strengthen the Zionist regime’s security belt through creating artificial crises, differences, and conflicts between Muslim countries,” Ashtiani added, referring to Israel.
“Therefore, this presence has never been meant for helping human rights, promoting democracy, and aiding regional people.”
The Iranian minister also said that Iran and Iraq enjoy a geopolitical connection, comprising ethnic, religious, cultural, economic, and energy elements.
He called for vigilance in the face of plots hatched to damage unity and solitary between the Iranian and Iraqi nations.
“Iran believes in supporting Iraq’s unity and integrity and assisting the country with the process of consolidating its stability and security, development, and prosperity.”
Ashtiani said Tehran and Baghdad needed to improve their military, intelligence, and security coordination as the presence of terrorist groups in Iraq, including in the provinces adjacent to Iran, still posed a threat to the national security of the two countries.
He also expressed Iran’s readiness to provide Iraq with experience to achieve self-reliance in its defense industry.
Abbasi, for his part, said the Iraqi armed forces and nation were still fighting terrorism, appreciating Iran’s assistance as a friendly country in this regard.
“A strong Iran will lead to a strong Iraq and vice versa, and following this path will resolve regional challenges and crises,” he added.

A container ship carrying general commercial goods docked at Yemen's main port of Hodeidah for the first time since at least 2016 on Saturday as parties in Yemen's eight-year war are in talks to reinstate an expired UN-brokered truce deal.
The conflict, launched by a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia against the Ansarallah or Houthi movement, has caused a humanitarian crisis that has left 80% of the 30 million population needing help. Goods arriving at Hodeidah have to be vetted by a UN body established to prevent arms shipments from entering Yemen. In the past seven years, Djibouti-based UNVIM has given approval only to ships carrying specific goods like foodstuffs, fuel and cooking oil.
According to Reuters, granting access to commercial ships was a trust-building step aimed at supporting Saudi-Houthi talks to reinstate the truce, which expired in October.
Port officials said the SHEBELLE, which according to ship tracking data is an Ethiopian-flagged general cargo ship, was given clearance by United Nations inspection body, the Verification and Inspection Mechanism for Yemen (UNVIM).
"The mechanism previously only provided clearance for specific shipments but now UNVIM is granting clearances for all kinds of shipments to Hodeidah port," said Muhammad Abu-Bakr bin Ishaq, head of Houthi-run Red Sea Ports Corporation.
He did not say what cargo the ship was carrying.
He said increased flow of goods into the western port would reduce transportation costs for products.
The military alliance launched an air campaign against Yemen in March 2015 after the Houthis ousted a Saudi-backed government from the capital, Sana’a.
Direct talks between Saudi Arabia and Ansarallah, facilitated by Oman, are parallel to UN-led efforts to restore the truce, which has largely held, establish a formal ceasefire and launch inclusive political negotiations.
The Saudi-led war has killed tens of thousands of people, destroyed Yemen's economy and left millions hungry. The Houthis say they are fighting a corrupt system and foreign aggression.

Iran on Sunday again rejected Western accusations that it had supplied military drones to Russia to be used in the Ukraine war, urging the West to put an end to its “futile” blame game.
“Claims about the use of Iranian drones in Ukraine are false,” Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian tweeted.
Amir-Abdollahian criticized “certain Western parties” for making such claims “without presenting any evidence”.
He blamed the accusers for the possible cancelation of an expected meeting between Iran and Ukraine over the dispute.
“The West must stop this futile game,” said the top Iranian diplomat, adding, “Iran supports peace and opposes war.”
At least two rounds of talks have been held between Iranian and Ukrainian officials in Oman to discuss the alleged supply of armed drones to Russian forces fighting in Ukraine.

Iran’s northern province of Mazandaran, having great tourist attractions, is a great opportunity to turn into a tourist destination for Kazakh people, said deputy governor of Mangistau region of Kazakhstan, Kulzhanov Kanat Zhanbyruly.
He made the statement on the sidelines of joint economic and investment meeting held on Sunday in Tehran.
He said that the economic and tourism infrastructure of Mazandaran is unique for the development of business relations and the presence of Kazakh tourists, adding that health tourism and specialty doctors, as well as tourist attractions paved the ground for the presence of foreign tourists in the province.

“Convenient tourism and visa-free travel in Mazandaran are among our plans,” said Zhanbyruly.
“We will use the capacity of Mazandaran’s knowledge-based companies as well as the production units to broaden our experiences, the Kazakh official noted.
In addition, Hassan Kheirianpour, deputy governor-general for coordinating economic affairs in Mazandaran, said that the province is ready to have joint investments in the fields of economics, infrastructure and engineering.
Establishing communication with neighboring countries is one of the main programs of provincial officials for economic development and growth, he pointed out.
The provincial official said that some commercial agreements were signed between the province and Kazakhstan, adding that Iran is making attempts to implement these agreements.
Stating that Mazandaran is one of Iran’s tourist-friendly provinces, he called for visa waiver for Kazakh tourists.