Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif: Iran will continue enriching, won’t close facilities and all sanctions will be lifted

In other words, the Iranians intend to go about business as usual when it comes to its nuclear program.

After a preliminary nuclear agreement was reached with Iran on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif noted that his country will continue enriching, won’t close facilities and all sanctions will be lifted.

"None of those measures include closing any of our facilities. The proud people of Iran would never accept that," Zarif said.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiehVx64fFY]

Here is the full statement from Zarif:

Good evening to all of you.

Let me also join Ms. Mogherini in thanking both the Swiss government and the distinguished members of the press and media for their actually trying to work with us over the last several weeks and trying to help us in getting the world to know what was going on.

As our tradition has been, I will read the same statement that Mrs. Mogherini just read out to you in English in Farsi. It will be the same statement. You don’t need interpretation.

The foreign minister of Islamic Republic of Iran and the representative of E.U. and the representative of France, China and Germany, Britain and the U.S. from the March 26 to April 2 of 2015 met at Switzerland.

As we had agreed in November 2014, we gathered here to reach solutions regarding what can guarantee the lifting of all sanctions completely.

Today, we have took an important step. We have reached a joint agreement. This political decision required good will, hard work.

Let me thank all of the representatives for their hard work. This is a crucial decision, laid out all of the details, and now we can start drafting our joint agreement that we have reached during these few days.

As Iran plans to continue its plans for peaceful enrichment, our enrichment capacity will be limited for a time, for some time. The enrichment using centrifuge machines will be continued for a limited time. The facilities will be changed to facilities that carry out research on atomic sciences.

Our research regarding enrichment of heavy water will continue with agreement that the plutonium would not be used. The ensemble of all the measures that have been decided here, everybody has decided that this is a joint decision. And we will decide more regarding all the issues past and present.

Iran will participate in all the decisions regarding nuclear planning and we will cooperate regarding safety of all work done with nuclear issues. And the United States will lift all the sanctions. Simultaneously with all the decisions made that Iran will continue to (inaudible).

There are also some routine decisions that would be only for a temporary time. We can now start drafting with all the details that we are certain that we will continue this drafting — the joint drafting until June 13.

We thank you, the Switzerland government and everybody who is involved; also the press.