France, Germany, and the United Kingdom (UK) have expressed grave concern regarding the Iranian nuclear programme after the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) latest report confirmed that Iran is accelerating uranium enrichment to near weapons-grade levels.
The IAEA report, released on Tuesday, noted that Iran has produced uranium metal-enriched up to 20% fissile purity for the first time and lifted the production capacity of enriched uranium to 60%.
In a joint statement on Thursday, the foreign ministry spokespersons of the three countries reiterated that Iran’s production of enriched uranium violated its commitment under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA). They added that increased uranium production capacity and enriched uranium metal are vital steps in developing a nuclear weapon, for which Iran has no credible civilian need.
The countries also expressed concern over the non-resumption of nuclear talks. “We urge Iran to return to negotiations in Vienna as soon as possible with a view to bringing them to a swift, successful conclusion. We have repeatedly stressed that time is on no one’s side,” they said. “Talks in Vienna have been interrupted upon Tehran’s request for two months now, and Iran has not yet committed to a date for their resumption,” the statement added.
Last month, Iran said it is not ready to resume negotiations in Vienna to restore the 2015 nuclear deal until the new president, Ebrahim Raisi, takes office in August. While diplomats have expressed satisfaction with the nuclear discussions so far, the sixth round of talks ended on June 20 with no sign of when subsequent negotiations would resume.
Moreover, the countries stated, “Our concerns are deepened by the fact that Iran has significantly limited IAEA access through withdrawing from JCPOA-agreed monitoring arrangements.”
After the Agency’s latest report, the US also urged Iran not to continue with such escalations that violate the terms set by the JCPOA. The JCPOA limits the purity to which Iran can enrich uranium at 3.67%. US State Department spokesperson Ned Price called the move “unconstructive and inconsistent with a return to mutual compliance.” He added that “such escalations will not provide Iran negotiating leverage” in nuclear negotiations and warned that Iran would be further isolated if it continues to enrich uranium at higher levels. “Iran has no credible need to produce uranium metal, which has direct relevance to nuclear weapons development,” Price said.
Iran’s move threatens the revival of the 2015 nuclear deal and the US returning to it. The US unilaterally pulled out of the agreement in 2018, citing violations by Iran and consequently re-imposed sanctions on the latter. Since then, Iran has frequently violated its commitment under JCPoA to mount pressure on other signatories to provide more economic incentives to offset the cost of American sanctions.
The Biden administration has expressed willingness to rejoin the agreement but insists that Iran stop violating the deal and follow the limitations imposed on its nuclear programme.
Iran reiterated that its nuclear programme was peaceful and “it is developing reactor fuel.” In addition, Iranian officials said they would reverse the move “if the US returned to the nuclear deal and lifted sanctions.”