A prominent Iranian opposition figure and former interior minister has called for a national referendum on the country’s nuclear program, Deutsche Presse Agentur reported Thursday, July 12. “The question is whether it’s worth sacrificing national interests for the sake of only one issue,” Abdollah Nouri said at a meeting with student activists in Tehran. The referendum would ask whether Iranians preferred to continue with the program or discontinue it in the face of Western sanctions and a dispute with world powers. “It is said that the latest oil sanctions have decreased national income by 25 per cent and it is quite obvious that such a decrease will gravely affect the economy and people’s lives,” Nouri said. He was referring to the European Union oil embargo that went into effect at the beginning of the month, leading to further increases in inflation.