The IAEA confirmed on Monday that Iran breached the limit on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium set under the JCPOA, verifying that the 300kg (600lb) cap had been exceeded.
The deliberate violation of the nuclear deal has been confirmed by Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif who stated that “Iran has crossed the 300kg limit based on its plan”, as a protest towards the US sanctions on Iran’s economy and Europe’s lack of action to ease the impact of the sanctions.
Tehran has threatened a breach of increased severity on July 8th by continuing enrichment of higher-grade uranium. Iran said on Monday that it was prepared to return to complying with the deal if the European powers delivered on the economic benefits Iran was promised during the negotiations in 2015.
Iran announced in May that it has suspended some commitments under the nuclear deal and threatened to resume higher uranium enrichment, in response to the U.S. withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) a year earlier.
The head of the global nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, confirmed last month that Iran has started to produce higher quantities of enriched uranium, following through on its threat in May.
Since the JCPOA was signed between Iran and the P5+1 in July 2015, at least 32 Iranian missile launches have taken place, and despite the agreement, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and other leading officials continue to issue explicit threats against Israel’s existence.
The U.S. announced on 24th June that it is implementing new sanctions on Iran as part of its “maximum pressure” strategy, following escalating tensions.
In June, Iran’s military shot down a US military drone using a surface-to-air missile, on the basis that it had violated Iranian airspace near Kuhmobarak. Iran is alleged to have carried out attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz in the same month.
