Iran says it has breached uranium stockpile limit set by nuclear deal

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.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab & agencies

01 July, 2019

Iran had recently quadrupled its production of low-enriched uranium [AFP]

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.

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