Iran to suspend some nuclear deal commitments in response to US sanctions

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is expected to announce a series of measures next Wednesday in response to the US withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear agreement, a number of Iranian news agencies reported on Monday.

The semi-independent Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) said that President Rouhani would take part in a television interview on Wednesday and detail reductions in some Iranian commitments undertaken as part of the nuclear deal, as well as the resumption of some nuclear activities which were stopped as part of the deal.

These activities fall under clauses 26 and 36 of the nuclear agreement which Iran reached with the US, UK, France, China, Russia, and Germany (known collectively as the P5+1 group) in 2015.

According to an anonymous official quoted by ISNA, Iran is not contemplating complete withdrawal from the nuclear agreement, and European officials have been "unofficially" informed of the measures.

In 2018, President Donald Trump’s administration announced the US' withdrawal from the deal, and recently the US has tightened sanctions against Iran in a bid to reduce the country’s oil exports.

Tensions are rising between the two countries. On Monday, the US sent an aircraft carrier strike group to the Gulf after saying it had "clear indications" that Iranian-aligned forces are preparing to attack US troops in the region.

Iranian-aligned militias currently operate in Syria and Iraq and US forces are also present there.