Iran's nuclear agreement: uranium enrichment violations are extortion, say the United States



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Legend of the mediaThe representative of Iran to the UN: the Europeans "do not honor their commitments" on the nuclear agreement

The United States has accused Iran of a "crude and transparent attempt to extort payments from the international community" by violating the 2015 nuclear deal.

The US ambbadador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that Iran had no credible reason for not meeting two key commitments in the field of nuclear energy. 39, enrichment of uranium.

Iran said the measures were a response to the sanctions the United States reinstated when it dropped the deal last year.

He is committed to reversing them if he is compensated for the economic losses.

The European powers still party to the agreement have put in place a mechanism to facilitate legitimate trade without direct financial transactions which, they hope, would bypbad the sanctions imposed by the United States. However, Iran said that it did not meet his needs.

The Iranian representative at the United Nations in New York told the BBC that Europeans could do more and that, if they did not do so, Iran would take additional measures.

"If nothing happens in the next 60 days, we will have to go to phase 3. The elements of the third phase are not yet known, but we will announce what we are going to do," said Majid Takht- Ravanchi warned .

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The Iranian president told a French envoy that "the road to diplomacy and talks" was "completely open"

At the extraordinary meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna on Wednesday, diplomats were reportedly informed that global surveillance inspectors had verified that Iran was enriching uranium at a concentration of 4 , 5% – above the limit of 3.67% set by the nuclear agreement.

The country announced the move three days ago, saying it wants to be able to produce fuel for the Bushehr nuclear power plant.

The IAEA would also have verified that Iran's low-enriched uranium stocks had increased since the 300-kilogram (660-lb) limit was exceeded on 1 July.

Low enriched uranium, which typically has a concentration of 3 to 5%, can be used to produce fuel for commercial nuclear power plants. Military grade uranium is enriched to 90% or more.

Experts said that exceeding the stock limit did not constitute a short-term proliferation risk, but that enriching uranium at a higher concentration would begin to shorten the so-called "break-up time" from Iran – the time needed to produce sufficient fissile material for a bomb.

Iran insists that it has never sought to develop a nuclear weapon. But the international community does not believe Iran and has negotiated a nuclear deal to prevent it from doing so.

US President Donald Trump said the deal did not go far enough to restrict the Iranian nuclear program and unilaterally withdrew from the deal in May 2018.

He wants to replace it with another one that would also limit Iran's ballistic missile program and its involvement in regional conflicts. But Iran has so far refused.

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US Ambbadador Jackie Wolcott said it was imperative that Iran's "misconduct" not be rewarded

At the IAEA meeting, US Ambbadador Jackie Wolcott said recent actions and statements by Iran were extremely worrying and were undermining security and safety. stability.

"Iran's current nuclear position is clearly aimed at escalating tensions rather than defusing them, and underlines the serious problems Iran continues to pose to international peace and security" , she said.

"Such tactics of extortion and extortion will not solve the current stalemate or sanctions imposed on Iran, and the path taken by the regime will only deepen its international isolation and increase the dangers it faces. "

Ms. Wolcott stated that it was imperative that the "misconduct" of Iran not be rewarded.

"If this is the case, the demands and provocations of Iran will only intensify – as has happened too often in the past," she warned.

The ambbadador called on Iran to reconsider its nuclear breakthroughs and put an end to any plans for future progress.

"The United States has made it clear that we are open to negotiation without preconditions and that we are offering Iran the opportunity to fully normalize relations," she added.

Iran's Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran's actions were "legal" as part of the deal, which allows a party "to cease to fulfill its commitments … in whole or in part" in the event of "significant non-performance" by other parties.

President Trump later claimed in a tweet that Iran had "secretly" enriched "uranium in total violation" of the agreement reached by his predecessor, Barack Obama, and had promised that the sanctions "would soon be substantially strengthened".

Mr. Trump did not give more details. But the IAEA had repeatedly verified that Iran was abiding by the agreement until this month and the Iranian ambbadador to the agency, Kazim Gharib Abadi, said that he had "nothing to hide."

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron's senior diplomatic adviser held talks in Tehran with Iranian officials to try to avoid further escalation.

Iranian President Hbadan Rouhani told Emmanuel Bonne that Iran "had kept the path of diplomacy and talks completely open" and that he hoped the other parties to the agreement on nuclear could "use this opportunity correctly".

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