Iran's president has warned Europe and the United States that it would completely ignore enrichment limits after Sunday. France warned that Iran would not gain anything by boosting enrichment levels.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani warned the international community on Wednesday that Tehran would boost its uranium enrichment to "any amount that we want" after July 7.
"Our level of enrichment will no longer be 3.67. We will put this commitment aside by whatever amount we feel like, by whatever amount is our necessity, our need. We will take this above 3.67," Rouhani was quoted as saying by the Iranian IRIB news agency.
Iran is allowed to enrich up to 300 kilograms of uranium to 3.67% under the 2015 Iranian nuclear accord known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). About 1,500 kg of uranium enriched at around 90% is needed for one nuclear weapon.
Rouhani also said Iran would resume construction of a heavy water reactor that could start producing plutonium, which can also be used to generate nuclear power or create a nuclear bomb. The JCPOA forbids Iran from further construction on the reactor.
The president said Iran would return to full compliance with the deal if all parties, including the United States, also comply with the agreement.
"We will act on the JCPOA 100 percent the day that the other party acts 100 percent (too)," he said.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington remain high since US President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 Iranian nuclear accord and imposed harsh sanctions on the Islamic country. That prompted Iran to threaten to suspend some of its commitments to the deal on May 8.
The French Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that Iran would not gain anything by violating the nuclear pact.
"Putting it (the deal) into question will only increase the already heightened tensions in the region," Agnes von der Muhll, a foreign ministry spokeswoman, said.
"That is why France with its European partners have asked strongly that Iran reverse the excess enrichment without delay and refrain from further measures that undermine its nuclear commitments," von der Muhll added.
Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed Monday that Tehran had breached the 300 kilograms of low-enriched uranium allowed under the 2015 international nuclear accord.
A year after Donald Trump pulled the US from the international nuclear accord with Iran, the Middle East nation announced it would no longer adhere to some "voluntary commitments" in the accord.
Image: picture-alliance/epa/D. Calma
The deal breaker
President Donald Trump announced on May 8, 2018 that he was pulling the United States out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, arguing that the international accord was not in America's "national interest." The decision threw a cloud of uncertainty over the future of the nuclear accord and raised tensions with US allies in Europe.
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst
Slap in the face
Britain, France and Germany lobbied the Trump administration and Congress to remain in the nuclear accord, arguing that the deal was working and a US violation without a follow up plan would be destabilizing. In European capitals, the Trump administration's withdrawal was viewed as a slap in the face of allies.
Image: Reuters/K. Lamarque
Iran scrap 'voluntary commitments'
A year to the day after Trump's announcement, Iran informed the other signatories of the accord that they would no longer adhere to certain "voluntary commitments." Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the signatory nations had 60 days to implement promises to protect Iran's oil and banking sectors or Iran would resume the enrichment of uranium.
The decision came after the United States deployed an aircraft, the USS Lincoln, along with a bomber task force to the Middle East. Washington said the deployment was intended as a "clear unmistakable message." Iran said it took action because the European Union and others "did not have the power to resist US pressure."
Image: AP
A triumph of diplomacy
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as the Iran nuclear deal, was signed in 2015 by United States, China, Russia, France, Germany and Britain (P5+1) and Iran following years of negotiations. Under the international agreement, Iran agreed to dismantle its nuclear program and be subject to monitoring in exchange for the lifting of international nuclear related sanctions.
Image: picture alliance / landov
Compliance and verification
The JCPOA includes a robust monitoring, verification and inspection regime carried out by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The UN watch dog has verified Iran's compliance with the deal in 12 quarterly reports. The JCPOA allows Iran to pursue a peaceful nuclear program for commercial, medical and industrial purposes in line with international non-proliferation standards.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Schlager
Obama's achievement
The Iran nuclear deal was President Barack Obama's signature foreign policy achievement. Seeking to undo nearly every Obama administration legacy, Trump came into office calling it the "worst deal ever." The Trump administration argues the nuclear deal doesn't address other unrelated issues such as Iran's ballistic missiles, regional influence, support for "terrorist" groups and human rights.
Image: Reuters/Y. Gripas
Iranians approved
The nuclear deal and lifting of punishing nuclear related international sanctions created optimism in Iran after years of economic isolation. However, even before Trump pulled the US out of the deal, Tehran blamed the US for holding back international investment and not fulfilling its end of the bargain due to the uncertainty created by Trump's threats.
Image: picture alliance/AA/F. Bahrami
The opponents
After eight years with Barack Obama, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu found the US president he wanted in Donald Trump. The Israeli leader repeatedly slammed the deal despite his own military and intelligence chiefs' assessment the that JCPOA, while not perfect, was working and should be maintained. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are the other main opponents of the nuclear deal.
Image: Reuters/R. Zvulun
Who's left?
The EU-3 (Britain, France, Germany) have scrambled to ensure that Iran receives the economic benefits it was promised in order to avoid Tehran pulling out of the deal. As EU businesses face retaliation from the US for doing business with Iran, many are opting to avoid Iran. This would likely be a present to Chinese and Russian businesses.
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'A show of defiance'
Falling back under the 300 kilogram limit is easily reversible, and the remaining powers in the JCPOA would only become concerned if enrichment levels were ramped up to 20%, Francois Nicoullaud, a former French ambassador to Iran, told the AFP news agency.
"As long as Iran does not get close to a threshold of a ton of lightly enriched uranium, there is no pressing concern," Nicoullaud said. But if Iran "amassed, for example, a stock of 200 to 300 kilograms of uranium enriched to nearly 20%, there would be cause for great concern."
The International Crisis Group, a conflict prevention non-profit, wrote in a January assessment that to strengthen its negotiating position, Tehran "could creep past some of the JCPOA's boundaries both as a show of defiance and in hopes of pressuring the deal's remaining parties to do more to save it."
