Iran Threatens Return to Nuclear Enrichment as U.S. Sanctions Bite

Iran announced on Wednesday it was scaling back curbs to its nuclear program under a 2015 deal with world powers, and threatened to do more — including enriching uranium to a higher level — if countries did not shield it from U.S. sanctions.

Ariana News Agency- 

Rouhani said Tehran would halt a program to sell excess enriched uranium and heavy water to other countries, an arrangement used under the nuclear deal to keep its own stockpiles below permitted caps.

And he threatened that in 60 days Iran would resume enrichment of uranium beyond the low level permitted under the deal, unless the five other powers signed up to it find a way to protect Iran’s oil and banking industries from U.S. sanctions.

“If the five countries came to the negotiating table and we reached an agreement, and if they could protect our interests in the oil and banking sectors, we will go back to square one,” Rouhani said.

“The Iranian people and the world should know that today is not the end of the JCPOA,” he said, using the acronym for the nuclear deal. “These are actions in line with the JCPOA.”

A Summary on JCPOA:

The 2015 deal was signed between Iran, the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. Iran agreed to curbs on its nuclear program in return for the lifting of sanctions.

Washington’s European allies opposed President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out. They have tried to find ways to blunt the economic impact of new U.S. sanctions in the hope of persuading Tehran to continue to abide by it.

However, their efforts have largely failed, with all major European companies abandoning plans to do business with Iran for fear of U.S. punishment.

France’s defense minister said she wanted to keep the nuclear deal alive and warned Iran it could face more sanctions if it did not honor its part of the deal.

“Today nothing would be worse than Iran, itself, leaving this agreement,” Florence Parly told BFM TV.

China said the agreement should be implemented and called on all sides to avoid an escalation of tensions.