Iran said Sunday it was set to breach the uranium enrichment cap set by an endangered nuclear deal within hours as it seeks to press other parties into keeping their side of the bargain.
The Islamic republic also threatened to abandon more commitments unless a solution is found with the remaining parties to the landmark 2015 agreement after Washington unilaterally pulled out.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeted Sunday that Iran would face "further isolation and sanctions", adding to a raft of biting economic measures imposed by Washington, and President Donald Trump warned that Iran "better be careful."
The 2015 deal was reached between Iran and six world powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, the United States and Russia -- and saw Tehran agree to drastically scale down its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.
Washington began reimposing sanctions in August 2018 and has targeted crucial sectors including oil exports and the banking system, fuelling a deep recession.
Even after the US pullout, experts said Iran had been complying with the agreement, until early this month when it exceeded a limit on its enriched uranium reserves.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tehran could further scale back its commitments to the deal, but "all such steps are reversible" if European partners deliver on their part.
The move to start enriching uranium above the agreed maximum purification level of 3.67 percent comes despite opposition from countries backing the nuclear deal.
Britain said Iran had "broken the terms" of the accord, and along with Germany urged Tehran to "stop and reverse all activities inconsistent with its commitments."
President Hassan Rouhani's order to exceed the threshold would be implemented "in a few hours" after the last technical details were sorted, Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said live on state television.
Rouhani initially flagged Tehran's intentions on May 8, exactly a year on from Trump's abandoning the pact.
The Iranian president has said the move is in response to a failure by remaining parties to help Tehran work around sanctions already reimposed by the US.
- War of words -
The arch-rivals have been locked in an escalating war of words with Washington blaming Iran for a series of attacks on tanker ships and Tehran shooting down an American surveillance drone, raising fears of a conflict that both sides have said they want to avoid.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed this month that Iran has exceeded a 300-kilogramme limit on enriched uranium reserves, a cap that was imposed by the 2015 deal.
Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday singled out Iran's declining oil sales and the effect of financial sanctions as the main issues that needed to be solved, or Tehran would further step back from its nuclear commitments.
"We hope we can reach a solution, otherwise after 60 days we will take the third step as well," he said, adding that Tehran would give further details at an "opportune moment".
Iran had previously threatened to also resume building as of July 7 a heavy water reactor -- capable of one day producing plutonium -- in Arak in central Iran, a project that had been mothballed under the agreement.
However, since Iran delivered its ultimatum on the Arak reactor "good technical progress" had been made with parties on modernising the facility in a way that would not produce military grade plutonium, convincing Iran to postpone its decision, Araghchi said.
- 'At any level' -
Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation is fully ready to enrich uranium "at any amount and at any level" if ordered to do so, its spokesman Kamalvandi said.
A top advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hinted Friday it could reach five percent.
The 3.67 percent enrichment limit set in the agreement is far below the more than 90 percent level required for a nuclear warhead.
Iran says that it is not violating the deal, citing terms of the agreement allowing one side to temporarily abandon some of commitments if it deems the other side is not respecting its part of the accord.
France expressed "great concern" and demanded Tehran "Iran halt all activities that do not meet its commitments," a foreign ministry spokeswoman said.
French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Rouhani by phone Saturday and pledged to "explore by July 15 the conditions for a resumption of dialogue between all parties," according to a statement from the Elysee Palace.
Iran says it exercised "strategic patience" for a year after the US withdrawal, waiting for the remaining partners to make good on promised economic benefits.
Souring Iran-US ties since Trump quit nuclear deal
Tehran (AFP) July 7, 2019 - Relations between Tehran and Washington have gone from bad to worse since the United States unilaterally withdrew from the international deal on Iran's nuclear programme in May 2018.
Here are key developments.
- US quits -
On May 8, 2018, President Donald Trump announces the US withdrawal from the 2015 pact saying: "We cannot prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying and rotten structure of the current agreement."
The move heralds the reinstatement of US sanctions.
The US warns other countries to end trade and investment in Iran and to stop buying its oil or face punitive measures.
But Britain, France and Germany -- who were also parties to the deal alongside Russia and China -- insist Iran has abided by its commitments and say they are determined to save the agreement.
- Twelve conditions -
Immediately after the US announcement, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says Tehran would be within its rights to scrap the curbs it agreed in the deal. But he calls on the remaining parties to save it.
On May 21, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo outlines 12 tough conditions from Washington for any "new deal". They include not only new nuclear commitments but also a complete scaling back of Iran's regional role.
- Sanctions -
On August 7, Washington reimposes a first set of sanctions that target Iran's access to US banknotes and key industries, including cars and aviation.
Major international firms halt their activities or projects in Iran.
On November 5, the US reimposes a second package of sanctions aimed at significantly reducing Iran's oil exports and cutting it off from international finance.
At the end of January 2019, Britain, France and Germany launch a trade mechanism in a bid to allow Tehran to keep trading with EU companies bypassing US sanctions. No transaction has taken place under the system to date.
- 'Terrorism' -
On April 8, Washington designates Iran's ideological army, the Revolutionary Guards, a "foreign terrorist organisation".
Tehran immediately declares Washington a "state sponsor of terrorism" and blacklists its forces in the region as "terrorist groups".
- End of waivers -
On April 22, Trump announces his decision to cancel sanctions exemptions enjoyed by eight countries on oil imports.
On May 8, Iran says it has decided to suspend commitments it made under the nuclear deal, some immediately and some after 60 days if no progress is made on sanctions relief.
They include restrictions on the level to which Iran can enrich uranium and on limits on its heavy water stockpiles.
Trump announces new measures against Iran's steel and mining sectors.
- Escalation in the Gulf -
On May 12, four ships, including three tankers, are the target of mysterious "sabotage" acts in United Arab Emirates waters. The US and Saudi Arabia accuse Iran, which denies any involvement.
On June 13, two oil tankers are attacked in the Gulf of Oman. Washington, London and Riyadh accuse Iran, which again denies involvement.
On June 20, Iran's Revolutionary Guards say they shot down a US spy drone which allegedly violated Iranian airspace. The Pentagon denies the unmanned aircraft entered Iran's airspace.
The next day Trump approves a retaliatory strike, but cancels it at the last minute.
- New sanctions -
On June 24, the US imposes "hard-hitting" financial sanctions on Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior Iranian military leaders.
- Enriched uranium -
Iran announces on July 1 that it has exceeded a limit on its enriched uranium reserves set by the nuclear deal. The UN's nuclear watchdog confirms that Iran's total enriched uranium stockpile had "exceeded 300 kilogrammes".
On July 3, Rouhani says Iran will follow through with its threat to breach the uranium enrichment cap set by the deal from July 7.
On July 7, Iran announces it will begin enriching uranium to a level prohibited by the deal "in a few hours".
Tehran also threatens to abandon more nuclear commitments in "60 days" unless a "solution" is found with the deal's remaining parties.
Hard-won 2015 Iran nuclear deal
Tehran (AFP) July 7, 2019 - Iran agreed with major world powers in 2015 to freeze its nuclear programme in return for the lifting of punishing international sanctions.
But in 2018, President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the agreement, later reimposing sanctions.
Iran on July 1 announced it had exceeded its enriched uranium stockpile limit set by the deal, and on Sunday said it was set to breach a cap on the agreed maximum purification level.
Here is a look back.
- Long road -
Tough negotiations start in June 2013 between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany.
The final deal is reached on July 14, 2015, bringing an end to a 12-year international row over the Iranian nuclear issue.
- The aim -
The goal of the deal is to render it practically impossible for Iran to build an atomic bomb, while at the same time allowing it to pursue a civil nuclear programme.
As part of the agreement, Tehran pledges to reduce its nuclear capacities for several years.
The accord caps Iran's enrichment maximum at 3.67 percent, sufficient for power generation but far below the more than 90 percent level required for a nuclear weapon.
Iran agrees to slash the number of centrifuges -- which are used to enrich uranium for nuclear fuel but can also be used in the production of an atomic bomb -- from more than 19,000 to 5,060, and to maintain that level for a decade.
It also agrees to modify its heavy water reactor in Arak to make it impossible to produce plutonium for military use.
The deal comes into effect on January 16, 2016.
- Inspectors, sanctions relief -
The International Atomic Energy Agency is charged with regular inspections of facilities such as uranium mines and centrifuge workshops for up to 25 years.
The accord also paves the way for a partial lifting of international sanctions on Iran, opening the door to foreign investors. French energy giant Total and carmakers PSA and Renault all strike deals.
UN embargoes on the sale of conventional arms and on ballistic missiles to Iran are however maintained up to 2020 and 2023 respectively.
- US exit -
But on May 8, 2018, Trump announces the US is pulling out of the agreement and will reimpose sanctions on Iran as well as all companies with ties to the Islamic republic.
On August 7, it imposes sanctions that target access to US banknotes and key industries such as cars and carpets. They had been in place prior to the nuclear deal.
A second tranche of sanctions kicks in on November 5 targeting Iran's vital oil sector and central bank transactions.
From May 2, 2019, Washington ends temporary sanctions waivers it had granted to the eight main purchasers of Iranian oil, raising the pressure on holdouts China, India and Turkey to find other suppliers.
- Deal unravels -
Responding to the sanctions, Iran on May 8 announces it will stop observing restrictions on its stocks of enriched uranium and heavy water agreed under the deal.
It also gives Europe, China and Russia until July 7 to help it circumvent US sanctions and sell oil, saying it would otherwise abandon more of the terms.
Hours later Trump announces new measures on iron, steel, aluminium and copper.
On June 24, the US imposes financial sanctions on Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior Iranian military leaders.
It comes as tensions rise after Iran's downing of a US drone over sensitive Gulf waters and a series of tanker attacks that Washington blames on Tehran, which has denied involvement.
On July 1, Iran says it has exceeded the limit on its enriched uranium reserves set by the deal.
On July 7, Iran announces it is set to breach the cap on its enriched uranium purity within "a few hours" and threatens to abandon more nuclear commitments in "60 days".
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Iran to bypass uranium enrichment maximum despite calls for rethink
Tehran (AFP) July 3, 2019
Iran ignored US and EU warnings Wednesday and vowed to exceed within days the maximum uranium enrichment level it agreed to in the landmark 2015 nuclear accord. Iran is acting on its May 8 threat to suspend parts of the agreement in response to US President Donald Trump's reimposition of crippling sanctions after withdrawing from it in May last year. President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday's decision was in response to failure by other parties to the deal to keep up their promises and provide Ir ... read more
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