Iran vows to reduce nuke deal commitments after July 7
Iran's president warned European partners in its faltering nuclear deal on Wednesday that Tehran will increase its enrichment of uranium to "any amount that we want" beginning on Sunday, putting pressure on them to offer a way around intense U.S. sanctions targeting the country.
- Middle East
- Compiled from news agencies
- Published Date: 03:30 | 03 July 2019
- Modified Date: 03:31 | 03 July 2019
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday said if the European partners of the 2015 nuclear deal fail to fulfill their commitments, Iran will start reducing its commitment to the deal as well, local media reported.
"From July 7, Iran will start its measures [to reduce commitments to the 2015 nuclear deal] and if you [Western countries] want to express regret or to issue statements then, do it now," Rouhani was quoted as saying by the country's Mehr news agency.
Rouhani was speaking at a Cabinet session in capital Tehran.
"Iran's level of uranium enrichment will no longer be 3.67 percent after this deadline," he vowed according to Mehr, adding: "We will abandon this commitment and will increase the enrichment level to the level required."
"Return to logic, the negotiating table, mutual understanding, respect for the law and the UN Security Council's resolutions, and under these conditions we all will abide by the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action]," Rouhani said, referring to the 2015 nuclear deal.
Under the nuclear deal, Iran agreed to destroy its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium and cut its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98%.
The deal was signed by the U.K., the U.S., Russia, China, France, Germany and the EU in 2015.
In October 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his country would no longer be a signatory to the deal and thus withdrew from the agreement. Shortly afterward, Washington imposed sanctions on Iran.
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