Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday said his country would exceed on July 7 the uranium enrichment limit it agreed to in the 2015 nuclear deal by “as much as necessary”, AFP reported.
“On July 7, our enrichment level will no longer be 3.67%,” Rouhani said at a Cabinet meeting. “We will put aside this commitment. We will increase beyond 3.67% to as much as we want, as much as is necessary, as much as we need.”
Rouhani said Iran will reverse its action if the other parties to the nuclear deal – Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia – abide by their commitments. “We will remain committed to the (nuclear deal) as long as the other parties are committed,” he said. “We will act on the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] 100% the day that the other party acts 100% too.”
The uranium enrichment limit set in the deal is sufficient for power generation but far below the 90% level needed to manufacture nuclear weapons.
Rouhani said Iran would also restart construction of a heavy water reactor after July 7, and bring it to the condition that “according to you, is dangerous and can produce plutonium”.
On July 1, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif had said Tehran had exceeded the 300 kg limit of low-enriched uranium stockpile agreed to in the nuclear deal. The announcement came amid escalating tension between Iran and the United States.
“I have been informed that we have surpassed the 300-kilogram limit on our enriched uranium stockpile,” Zarif had said. He had also said the “measures are reversible” but warned that if Europe did not take the required action to uphold its side of the deal then Iran would not adhere to the terms of the agreement. Last month, the country had announced that it was planning to increase its uranium enrichment capacity.
Iran has often threatened to cross the 300-kg limit unless it gets some relief from the sanctions imposed on the country. The other signatories of the nuclear deal, which was originally signed by six world powers and Iran, are struggling to keep it afloat after United States President Donald Trump walked out of it last year.
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