Iran Breaches First Term of 2015 Nuclear Accord
by Jordan Hilger, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Reversing promises it made to European powers on Friday to abide by the terms of the 2015 nuclear accord, Iran has exceeded its uranium stockpile limit under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of the UN.
Under the deal, Iran was permitted to have no more than 661 pounds of low-enriched uranium, a nuclear bomb only being possible with about 2,315 pounds of high-enriched uranium. Nevertheless, nuclear experts say that the leap from the 3.76% enrichment allowed under the deal to the 90% enrichment that is considered weapons-grade is a very small one.
On Sunday, an Iranian nuclear spokesperson added that Iran would also increase its enrichment to 20%, ahead of breaking the stockpile limit Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Musavi having said on June 10th that “so far, we have not seen practical and tangible steps from the Europeans to guarantee Iran’s interests.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif echoed his displeasure with the European INSTEX system designed to circumvent Trump’s economic sanctions on the Islamic regime, saying it was insufficient to meet Iranian interests, despite having gone operational on Saturday.
In 2018 Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 nuclear accord, citing its failure to address Iranian terror proxies in the Middle East and the Iranian ballistic missile program. With Iran having broken the deal, now any of its European signatories can reinstate the UN sanctions that were lifted under Security Council resolution 2231 when the deal was signed, and that within 30 days.