TEHRAN, July 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Iran has officially broken the limit on low-enriched uranium set by a 2015 agreement with major global powers, marking its first infringement of the imperilled nuclear deal, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed on Monday.
IAEA head Yukiya Amano has informed the Vienna-based agency’s governing council of the breach. Iran had announced its intentions last month to partially exit the deal by the start of July if US sanctions on its oil and financial sector could not be relaxed.
Under the 2015 accord, Iran is not allowed to stock more than 300 kilograms of uranium enriched to 3.67 per cent. Iran said it would soon breach that limit and was also planning to enrich uranium of 5-per-cent purity at a southern nuclear reactor, and 20 per cent for a reactor in Tehran. The latter process is set to begin July 7.
The 2015 deal sought to prevent higher enrichment levels because the 20-per-cent material could be processed further into weapons-grade uranium very quickly.
US President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the deal last year and implemented new economic sanctions – despite opposition from European partners – as part of a “maximum pressure” campaign to force Iran to agree a more comprehensive deal.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif earlier Monday said that US efforts to build international support for its aggressive stance and tough sanctions have not been successful.
“The United States is trying to build an anti-Iran alliance and to condemn Iran in the UN Security Council,” Zarif said, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA. “So far both have failed.”
Zarif claimed that the pressure and sanctions the US has imposed on Iran marked a sign of weakness and were the result of a political miscalculation.
“Even the allies are distancing themselves ever more from the US,” Zarif said. “We will counter pressure with counter-pressure and resistance, just as we would answer respect with respect.”
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was concerned by Iran’s announcement that the deal had been breached.
Suspected breaches of the deal should be addressed through the mechanism established through the JCPOA, Guterres’ spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, referring to the the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreed with the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany and the European Union.
Guterres encourages Iran to continue implementing all nuclear-related commitments under the deal, and warned that a breach would not help to preserve the plan or secure the economic benefits for Iran envisaged under the deal, Dujarric said.
EU foreign policy spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said the bloc was concerned by Iran’s admission.
“Continued full implementation of the JCPOA by all sides is crucial for the sustainability of the agreement,” she said. “The EU remains fully committed to the agreement as long as Iran continues to fully implement its nuclear commitments.
“Noting that Iran has remained compliant for 14 months after the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, as verified by the IAEA, we urge Iran to reverse this step and to refrain from further measures that undermine the nuclear deal.”
Meanwhile Britain was “deeply worried” by Iran’s announcement, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said.
Britain “remains committed to making [the] deal work & using all diplomatic tools to de-escalate regional tensions,” Hunt tweeted.
“I urge Iran to avoid any further steps away from JCPOA & come back into compliance,” he added, referring to the the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreed with the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany and the European Union.
In a separate statement, Downing Street says Britain will “continue working with [its] JCPOA partners,” particularly Germany and France, to preserve the nuclear deal with Iran.
European powers have desperately tried to keep the nuclear deal alive despite US sanctions.
Senior diplomats from Iran and the five remaining powers – China, Germany, France, Britain and Russia – met for a last-ditch effort in Vienna last week. European powers also announced the start of their so-called Instex scheme, a barter system for European-Iranian trade that is meant to avoid US sanctions.
Iran on Friday said Europe’s efforts, though marking a step forward, would likely be insufficient to stop Tehran from exiting the nuclear deal.
Zarif said he was confident that Iran could counter US sanctions with locally sourced products.
Omid Nouripour, a foreign policy expert for Germany’s Greens, said the low-enrichment breach was not the decisive step to make Iran’s weapons program nuclear capable. He urged European powers to keep using diplomatic channels to prompt a return to negotiations.
“The Europeans have to use every minute they have remaining to convince the Iranians to stay in the agreement,” he told German media group RND.
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