Iran says it has breached uranium stockpile limit set by nuclear deal
Iran had recently quadrupled its production of low-enriched uranium
Date of publication: 1 July, 2019. The New Arab
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Monday that Iran has exceeded a limit on its enriched uranium reserves set under a 2015 nuclear deal, semi-official news agency ISNA reported.
“Iran has crossed the
300-kilogramme limit based on its plan,” Zarif told ISNA, saying Tehran
had set out its intentions “very clearly” in May.
Iran had recently quadrupled its
production of low-enriched uranium to be on pace to break one of the deal’s
terms.
Iran has vowed to begin enriching its
stockpile of uranium to higher levels closer to weapons grade later this month
if world powers fail to negotiate new terms for the nuclear accord following
the US decision to withdraw from the agreement and restore crippling sanctions.
European countries opposed the US withdrawal and have repeatedly urged
Iran to abide by the deal.
The EU said Friday after a crisis meeting aimed at salvaging the deal that a
special payment mechanism set up to help Iran skirt the sanctions,
known as INSTEX, was finally “operational” and that the first
transactions were being processed.
But “the Europeans’ efforts were not enough, therefore Iran will go ahead with its announced measures,” Zarif said.
“INSTEX is just the beginning of (their) commitments, which has not been fully implemented yet,” he added.
The unravelling of the landmark
nuclear agreement comes amid heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf, where
Iranian forces shot down a US drone last month.
The US said the drone was in international airspace while Iran insisted it
veered across its border.
The crisis stems from President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the nuclear accord and his policy of exerting maximum pressure on Iran to force it to change its policies in the region.
Categories: Rumors and Threats of Wars