Iran accused European governments Thursday of sacrificing a troubled 2015 nuclear deal to avoid trade reprisals from US President Donald Trump, who has spent nearly two years trying to scupper the agreement.
A defiant Iranian President Hassan Rouhani boasted Thursday that there is ‘no limit’ to his country’s level of uranium enrichment — just days after European powers raised concerns about the Islamic Republic backing away from a 2015 nuclear deal.
Russia and China have responded negatively to Tuesday’s decision by their European partners in the Iran nuclear deal to trigger a formal dispute resolution process in response to Tehran’s actions in violation of the 2015 agreement.
Britain, France, and Germany formally accused Iran on Tuesday of violating the terms of its 2015 agreement to curb its nuclear program, which eventually could lead to the reimposing of U.N. sanctions lifted under the deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that Israel will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons and called on Western countries to impose “snapback sanctions” on Tehran.
Iran’s dramatic announcement that it no longer intends to honor its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers could soon revive discussions in Israel over a possible military strike on Iranian targets.
The fate of the Iran nuclear deal appears to hang in the balance following an announcement by the regime that it will no longer comply with the curbs on its nuclear program, imposed by the 2015 agreement.
Iran vowed Sunday to defy the limits placed on its nuclear enrichment by the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and completely abandon the deal, in a response to the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani that also saw a red flag of Islamic martyrdom and vengeance raised over his funeral service in Qoms.
Iran, Russia, and China began four days of naval drills in the Gulf of Oman Friday, following Iran’s activation of advanced centrifuges that enrich uranium at greater speeds.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced Wednesday his country would employ a new line of advanced centrifuges to speed up uranium enrichment, reducing the time it would take the Islamic Republic to acquire a nuclear weapon to under a year.
France, Germany and the United Kingdom say Iran’s efforts to develop ‘nuclear-capable ballistic missiles’ go against a U.N. Security Council resolution calling on Tehran not to undertake any activity related to such missiles.
U.S. President Donald Trump spoke on Sunday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about Iran and other issues, the White House said in a brief statement.
Iran has significantly reduced its nuclear breakout time.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday that he is canceling one of four sanctions waivers that had allowed foreign companies to work with Iran’s civilian nuclear program without US penalties. Pompeo also warned Iran’s leadership not to crack down on protests that recent fuel price increases have sparked.
Uranium of a man-made origin has been discovered in Iran at a site that has ‘not been declared’ to inspectors, the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog disclosed for the first time in a report Monday.
The head of Iran’s nuclear program told The Associated Press on Monday that the country is now producing more low-enriched uranium daily, after restarting an underground facility.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Tuesday to ‘never let Iran develop nuclear weapons’ after Tehran announced it was expanding its uranium enrichment efforts in a further breach of the 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran began inserting uranium gas into centrifuges at the Fordo nuclear facility, state television announced Wednesday, marking its latest step away from the nuclear deal.
Iran’s underground uranium enrichment Fordow facility ‘will soon be back to full operation’, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani tweeted, a few hours after Tehran announced that uranium gas had been injected into centrifuges at the site on Wednesday.
U.S.-Iran tensions escalated Monday as Tehran announced a doubling of its uranium enrichment activities in a calculated breach of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and the Trump administration leveled a slate of fresh sanctions targeting an inner circle of officials around Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.