Iran begins enriching uranium to 4.5% a day after saying it would break limit set nuclear deal

Iran’s uranium enrichment level passed 4.5 per cent on Monday, exceeding the 2015 nuclear deal cap, Iranian atomic energy organisation spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said.

‘This morning Iran passed the 4.5 per cent level in uranium enrichment,’ he told the country’s semi-official ISNA News Agency.

‘This level of purity completely satisfies the power plant fuel requirements of the country,’ he added in a hint that the Islamic republic might stick to this level of enrichment for the time being.

Iran announced on Sunday it would no longer adhere to the enrichment cap in what it billed as its second step to decrease commitments to the deal in a bid to press other parties into keeping their side of the bargain.  

It comes a year after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the agreement and follows desperate efforts by European countries to keep Iran signed up to the deal.

America has imposed sanctions on the country, blocking its crude oil from being sold on the world market.  

Iran demanded the other parties – France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia – take steps to guarantee the economic benefits Iran was promised for the drastic limitations imposed on its nuclear programme.  

The European Union said Monday it was ‘extremely concerned’ by Iranian plans to breach the uranium enrichment cap set by the 2015 nuclear deal, calling on Tehran to reverse course. 

‘We strongly urge Iran to stop and reverse all activities that are inconsistent with the commitments made under the JCPOA,’ EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic told reporters.

US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal between Iran and six world powers in May 2018 and has since reimposed sanctions on many sectors including the crucial oil and financial industries

The JCPOA or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action gave Iran relief from punishing sanctions in return for setting strict limits on its nuclear activities.

The remaining signatories – Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China – say the deal is the best way to stop Iran developing atomic weapons.

‘We are extremely concerned by the announcement made over the weekend by Iran regarding the start of the uranium enrichment above the limit of 3.7 percent,’ Kocijancic said.

The EU will await a report from the UN atomic energy authority and consult other signatories to the deal before deciding on future steps, Kocijancic said. 

Tehran has grown increasingly frustrated about a perceived lack of action by the European side to help it economically in the face of crippling US sanctions.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that Tehran could further scale back its commitments, but ‘all such steps are reversible’ if European countries deliver on their part.

The move to start enriching uranium above the agreed maximum purification level of 3.67 percent comes despite opposition from the European Union and the United States. 

President Hassan Rouhani’s order to exceed the threshold would be implemented ‘in a few hours’ after the last technical details were sorted, Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said live on state television. 

President Hassan Rouhani’s order to exceed the threshold would be implemented ‘in a few hours’ after the last technical details were sorted

The Iranian president has said the move is in response to a failure by remaining parties to help Iran work around biting sanctions reimposed by the US. 

In response, the UK said Iran must ‘immediately stop and reverse all activities’. 

‘While the UK remains fully committed to the deal, Iran must immediately stop and reverse all activities inconsistent with its obligations,’ a spokesman said.

‘We are co-ordinating with other agreement participants regarding the next steps under the terms of the deal, including a joint commission.’