Tehran, Iran — Iran will break the uranium stockpile limit set by Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers in the next 10 days, the spokesman for the country’s atomic agency said Monday while also warning that Iran has the need for uranium enriched up to 20%, just a step away from weapons-grade levels.
The announcement indicated Iran’s determination to break from the landmark 2015 accord, which has steadily unraveled since the Trump administration pulled the United States out of the deal last year and re-imposed tough economic sanctions on Iran, sending its economy into freefall.
But, the Reuters news agency points out, Behrouz Kamalvandi also said there was still time for European nations to save the deal.
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Tehran has been pressing Europe to set up a system to “shield trade with Iran from U.S. sanctions in an effort to save the nuclear deal,” Reuters explains.
Kamalvandi, made the announcement during a news conference with local journalists at Iran’s Arak heavy water facility that was carried live on Iranian state television.
The development comes in the wake of suspected attacks on oil tankers last week in the region, attacks that Washington has blamed on Iran, assertions Iran denies. It also comes as tensions have spiked between Tehran and Washington a year after President Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the nuclear deal.
Kamalvandi acknowledged that the country has already quadrupled its rate of enrichment and said Tehran would increase uranium enrichment levels “based on the country’s needs.”
That increase could be to any level from 3.67%, the current limit set by the nuclear deal.
Iran’s needs 5% enrichment for its nuclear power plant in the southern Iranian port of Bushehr and it also needs 20% enrichment for a Tehran research reactor, the spokesman said.
