Iran has breached the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal for a second time, after announcing plans it will break the limit set on uranium enrichment.
In an escalation of the dispute over US sanctions, Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Abbas Araghchi, on Sunday announced an increase in uranium enrichment to 5%, a concentration above the limit set by its 2015 nuclear deal.
The declaration comes at a time of sharply increased U.S.-Iranian confrontation, a year after Washington quit the pact and reimposed sanctions that had been lifted under the accord in exchange for Tehran curbing its nuclear work.
“The main announcement tomorrow will be the increase of the level of enrichment to 5% percent from 3.67% that we agreed under the deal,” the official said on Saturday on condition of anonymity.
The announcement comes a day after French President Emmanuel Macron said he and Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani had agreed to seek conditions for a resumption of dialogue on the Iranian nuclear question by July 15.
Macron’s office added that he would keep on talking with Iranian authorities and other involved parties to “engage in a de-escalation of tensions related to Iranian nuclear issue.”
The deal is aimed at extending the time Iran would need to produce a nuclear bomb, if it chose to, to a year from roughly 2-3 months. Iran says its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes, such as power generation, and not to make bombs.
