TEHRAN – An Iranian lawmaker has said that Iran has learned how to live without the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The lawmaker, Morteza Mahmoudvand, who is a member of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, made the remarks on the occasion of the anniversary of the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA. 

“The main problem of the West with Iran is the development of knowledge, independence and elimination of dependence,” he said in remarks to ICANA. “According to nuclear specialists, today we have reached a stage where we have the entire cycle of nuclear knowledge in the country, and this issue has angered the Arrogance.”

He added, “If we depended on Westerners and asked them for help in the matter of advanced sciences such as the use of nuclear knowledge capacities, there would not have been pressure or sanctions to this extent. But when we chose the path of independence, we saw terror, sanctions and bad faith.”

Referring to the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, Mahmoudvand said, “Based on various reports, according to the agreement and international standards, the Islamic Republic of Iran carried out the necessary cooperation and accepted various restrictions. But these restrictions did not stop our scientists from producing science, so America unilaterally withdrew from the agreement so that the economy and knowledge in our country would not develop at the same time.”

He concluded, “We have learned to live without the JCPOA and Westerners should know that the opportunities to return are not permanent and if they do not use the agreement window, we will teach them a great lesson with the advancement of peaceful nuclear knowledge and standing.”

The U.S. withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018 and reimposed sweeping economic sanctions against Iran.