Iran has started producing uranium in another violation of its 2015 agreement commitments, since the substance can be used in the manufacture of nuclear weapons. The announcement was made on Wednesday (10) by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Monday (8), the UN body checked “3.6 grams of uranium at the Isfahan plant”, according to a note sent to the AFP press agency.
According to Tehran, uranium must “produce fuel” for one of its reactors as part of its research and development activities – the country has always denied the production of nuclear weapons.
The nuclear deal was signed in 2015, when the United States was ruled by Democrat Barack Obama, with Joe Biden as MP. Iran has agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for easing economic sanctions.
In 2019, however, in response to the departure of former President Donald Trump the year before and the reinstatement of sanctions by Washington, Tehran began to take further steps to break the deal.
The most serious breach to date took place in January, when the country raised the level of enrichment of its uranium to 20%, a level the country practiced before 2015, but which is still far from the 90% required for the making of a bomb. .
Joe Biden’s arrival at the White House has given hope for a resumption of dialogue following Trump’s maximum pressure policy. On Sunday (7), Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei went so far as to say that the US government should first completely suspend sanctions against his country before Iran resumes its commitments to the government. title of the agreement.
However, the new president of the United States has warned that he will not take the first step to lift the sanctions, as demanded by the Iranian leadership. In an interview with CBS later this Sunday (7), the Democrat said he would not lift sanctions until the country started cutting back on nuclear production again.
Earlier on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif warned that “the window of fire is narrowing”, increasing the pressure on Washington.
“Soon my government will be forced to take further action in response to the regrettable failure of Americans and Europeans,” he said in a YouTube post.
On February 21, a deadline set by Parliament, Iran will be able to restrict IAEA inspectors’ access to its nuclear sites, a red line that would jeopardize behind-the-scenes maneuvers to try to save the deal.