WASHINGTON: The US has accused Iran of a “crude and transparent attempt to extort payments from the international community” by violating the 2015 nuclear deal.
The US ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency said there was no credible reason for Iran to breach two key commitments on uranium enrichment.
Iran has said the steps were a response to the sanctions the US reinstated when it abandoned the deal last year. It has vowed to reverse them if it is given compensation for economic losses.
European powers still party to the deal have set up a mechanism for facilitating legitimate trade without direct financial transactions that they hope will circumvent the US sanctions.
However, Iran has said it does not meet its needs. Iran’s representative to the UN in New York told the BBC that the Europeans could do more, and that if they did not Iran would take further steps.
“If nothing happens in the next 60 days we will have to go to the third phase.
“The elements of the third phase are not known yet, but when it comes to that we will announce what we are going to do,” Majid Takht-Ravanchi (pictured) said.
At Wednesday’s special meeting of the IAEA board of governors in Vienna, diplomats were reportedly told that the global watchdog’s inspectors had verified Iran was enriching uranium to 4.5 per cent concentration — above the 3.67 per cent limit set by the nuclear deal.
The country announced the step three days ago, saying it wanted to be able to produce fuel for the Bushehr nuclear power plant.
The IAEA was also said to have verified that Iran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium had grown since the 300kg limit was exceeded on July 1.
Low-enriched uranium, which typically has a 3-5 per cent concentration, can be used to produce fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. Weapons-grade uranium is 90 per cent enriched or more.
Iran insists it has never sought to develop a nuclear weapon.
– BBC