The European countries party to the Iran nuclear deal have told Tehran its decision to enrich uranium at 60 per cent purity, bringing the fissile material closer to bomb-grade, was contrary to efforts to revive the 2015 accord.
And in an apparent signal to Iran’s arch-adversary Israel, which Tehran blamed for an explosion at its key nuclear site on Sunday, European powers Germany, France and Britain added that they rejected “all escalatory measures by any actor”.
Last week, Iran and its fellow signatories held what they described as “constructive” talks to revive the deal, which the Trump administration quit in 2018 saying its terms favoured Tehran, in a move welcomed by Israel.
But Britain, France and Germany said Tehran’s new decision to enrich at 60 per cent, and activate 1000 advanced centrifuge machines at its underground Natanz plant, was not based on credible civilian reasons and constituted an important step towards the production of a nuclear weapon.
“Iran’s announcements are particularly regrettable given they come at a time when all JCPoA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) participants and the United States have started substantive discussions, with the objective of finding a rapid diplomatic solution to revitalise and restore the JCPoA,” the three countries said in a statement, referring to the 2015 deal.
Read the article by John Irish in The Canberra Times.