TEHRAN – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani Wednesday threatened to resume high level enrichment of uranium if his country’s interests in the nuclear deal with world powers are not protected within 60 days.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran declares that at the current stage, it does not any more see itself committed to respecting the limitations on keeping enriched uranium and heavy water reserves,” Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said in a statement.
The SNSC said other partners would have to dampen pressure on Iran caused by subsequent US sanctions within the deadline, otherwise the country “will cease implementation of restrictions on uranium enrichment levels and measures related to the modernization of Arak Heavy Water Reactor as well.”
“Once our demands are met, we will resume implementation of the ceased undertakings. Otherwise, the Islamic Republic of Iran will stop compliance with its other undertakings in consequent phases,” the SNSC warned.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted that the country was stopping measures that Washington “has made impossible to continue.”
https://twitter.com/JZarif/status/1126009591026847744
Last year, U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew his country from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 group of nations (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) named Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Shortly afterward, Washington re-imposed economic sanctions on Iran targeting the country’s energy and banking sectors; Trump also called on other players to stop importing Oil from the Muslim-majority nation.
Russia Stands By Iran
The Kremlin said Wednesday that Russia remained committed to the Iran nuclear deal and denounced “unreasonable pressure” that led Tehran to suspend some of its commitments under the agreement.
Reiterating Moscow’s “committment” to the agreement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denounced “ill-conceived and arbitrary decisions that put unreasonable pressure on Iran.”
