Iran Says It Will Exceed Nuclear Deal's Limit On Uranium 'In 10 Days'

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Updated at 11:50 a.m. ET

Within days Iran will exceed the limit on its stockpile of uranium under a 2015 nuclear deal, according to a spokesman for the country's atomic energy agency, who also said Tehran would increase uranium enrichment levels in violation of the agreement, "based on the country's needs."

The remarks come amid increased tension between the U.S. and Iran, particularly after last week's attack on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman that Washington has blamed on Tehran. Iran has denied any involvement.

Under the multilateral Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that the U.S. withdrew from a year ago, Iran can keep no more than 300 kilograms (661 pounds) of uranium enriched no higher than 3.67% — far below the 90% level considered suitable for building nuclear weapons.

At a news conference at the Arak Nuclear Complex that was carried live Monday on Iranian television, Behrouz Kamalvandi, a spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said that stockpile limit could be exceeded within 10 days.

"We have quadrupled the rate of enrichment and even increased it more recently, so that in 10 days it will bypass the 300 kg limit," Kamalvandi said.

He added that his country needs uranium enriched to 5% for its Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, built in the 1990s with Russian help, and uranium of 20% purity to be used as fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor, which the U.S. supplied to Iran in 1967.

Although not weapons-grade, 20% purity is generally considered "highly enriched" uranium, and as The Associated Press notes, "going from 20% to 90% is a relatively quicker process, something that worries nuclear nonproliferation experts."

Even so, Kamalvandi held out the possibility that "there is still time ... if European countries act."

"Iran's reserves are every day increasing at a more rapid rate. And if it is important for them (Europe) to safeguard the accord, they should make their best efforts. ... As soon as they carry out their commitments, things will naturally go back to their original state," he said, according to AP.

That sentiment was echoed by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday. "It's a crucial moment, and France can still work with other signatories of the deal and play an historic role to save the deal in this very short time," he was quoted by the Fars News Agency as saying during a meeting with France's new ambassador in Iran.

Reuters reports that Rouhani said the collapse of the nuclear deal would not be in the interests of the region and the world.

In response to Iran's announcement on uranium enrichment levels, National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis said in a statement: "Iran's enrichment plans are only possible because the horrible nuclear deal left the their capabilities intact. President Trump has made it clear that he will never allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons. The regime's nuclear blackmail must be met with increased international pressure."

Following last week's reported attack on the tankers Front Altair and Kokuka Courageous near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said "there's no doubt" that Iran was responsible for disabling the vessels.

"The intelligence community has lots of data, lots of evidence," Pompeo said on Fox News Sunday. "The world will come to see much of it, but the American people should rest assured we have high confidence with respect to who conducted these attacks as well as half a dozen other attacks throughout the world."

On CBS' Face the Nation, Pompeo said the U.S. was "considering a full range of options."

"We are confident that we can take a set of actions that can restore deterrence, which is our mission set," he said.

On Monday, Iran's armed forces chief of staff again denied the country's involvement in the attacks.

"Regarding the new incidents in the Persian Gulf ... if the Islamic Republic of Iran decides to block exports of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, it is militarily strong enough to do that fully and publicly," Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri said, according to Fars News Agency. </s> Iranian presidency, AFP | A handout picture made available by the Iranian presidential office shows Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attending events for “nuclear technology day" in Tehran on April 9, 2019.

Iran said Monday it will surpass from June 27 its uranium stockpile limit set under the nuclear deal with world powers, turning up the pressure after the US walked away from the landmark pact last year.

"Today the countdown to pass the 300 kilograms reserve of enriched uranium has started and in 10 days time... we will pass this limit," Iran's atomic energy organisation spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi told a news conference broadcast live on state television.

The move "will be reversed once other parties live up to their commitments," he added, speaking from the Arak nuclear plant southwest of Tehran.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the international community to immediately hit Iran with "snapback sanctions" should it violate the deal by surpassing the uranium stockpile limit set in the deal.

Speaking at a news conference in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron said he "regrets" Iran's announcement, noting that the Islamic Republic so far still respects its obligations under the 2015 accord.

On May 8, President Hassan Rouhani said Iran would stop observing restrictions on its stocks of enriched uranium and heavy water agreed under the 2015 nuclear deal.

Rouhani said the move was in retaliation for the unilateral US withdrawal from the accord a year earlier, which saw Washington impose tough economic sanctions on Tehran.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington have escalated ever since, with the United States bolstering its military presence in the region and blacklisting Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation.

The United States has also blamed Iran for last week's attacks on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman, a charge Tehran has denied as "baseless".

Iran has threatened to go even further in scaling down nuclear commitments by July 8 unless remaining partners to the deal -- Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- help it circumvent US sanctions and especially enable it to sell its oil.

"The current situation is sensitive" and there is still time for the deal's partners to save this agreement, Rouhani told the French ambassador to Tehran Philippe Thiebaud on Monday.

"The collapse of the JCPOA is undoubtedly not in the interest of Iran... the region and the world," he added, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the deal is formally known.

Under the agreement, Iran pledged to reduce its nuclear capacities for several years and allow international inspectors inside the country to monitor its activities in return for relief from international sanctions.

The deal set a limit on the number of uranium-enriching centrifuges, and restricted its right to enrich uranium to no higher than 3.67 percent, well below weapons-grade levels of around 90 percent.

It also called on Iran to export enriched uranium and heavy water to ensure the country's reserves would stay within the production ceiling set by the agreement, yet recent US restrictions have made such exports virtually impossible.

According to Rouhani, the ultimatum he issued last month was intended to "save the (deal), not destroy it".

The three European parties to the accord created a trade mechanism meant to bypass US sanctions, but their attempt was dismissed by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a "bitter joke".

The spokesman for Iran's atomic energy organisation warned further steps could be taken if world powers do not step up to help the country.

"They range from going to 3.68 percent to any other percent according to the country's needs," said Kamalvandi.

Authorities were still debating whether to "redesign or revive" the Arak reactor, he added.

Uranium enriched to much higher levels than Iran's current stocks can be used as the fissile core of a nuclear weapon, while heavy water is a source of plutonium, which can be used as an alternative way to produce a warhead.

"#Iran not bluffing about 60-day deadline for ceasing compliance with parts of nuclear deal," Ellie Geranmayeh, senior fellow at European Council on Foreign Relation said in a tweet.

She downplayed the importance of uranium and heavy water stockpiles increasing and said it would be more worrying for Europe if Iran exceeded the enrichment level allowed in the deal.

"I imagine Tehran will do this incrementally, testing Europeans at each stage."

Germany has acknowledged the economic benefits Iran hoped for from the deal were now "more difficult to obtain", but has urged Iran to fully respect the "extraordinarily important" nuclear deal.

"A point to Europeans: if the first step took time to be done, other steps, especially increasing enrichment... need no more than a day or two," said Kamalvandi. </s> Iran is not seeking to wage war against any nation, the country’s president has said while at the same time stressing that Iranians will withstand mounting US pressure and emerge victorious.

The remarks by President Hassan Rouhani came after Iran announced it was breaking compliance with the nuclear deal with world powers and the Trump administration ordered 1,000 more troops to the Middle East.

“We do not wage war with any nation,” Mr Rouhani said, speaking during the inauguration of a new terminal at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport that will raise its capacity from eight million to 13 million passengers a year.

“The entire Iranian nation is unanimous in confronting” US pressures, Mr Rouhani said.

“The end of this battle will see victory of the Iranian nation.”

He added that despite the US withdrawal last year from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Iran had remained “loyal to its commitments, to … international agreements”.

But on Monday, Iran’s nuclear agency announced it will surpass the uranium stockpile limits set by its 2015 nuclear deal in the next 10 days, raising pressure on Europeans trying to save the accord a year after the US withdrawal.

Hours later, the Pentagon announced it was sending about 1,000 additional American troops to the Middle East to bolster security in the region in the face of what US officials said was a growing threat from Iran.

The announcement by Iran’s nuclear agency marked yet another deadline set by Tehran.

Mr Rouhani has already warned Europe that a new deal needs to be in place by July 7 or the Islamic Republic would increase its enrichment of uranium.

The developments indicate Iran has begun its own maximum pressure campaign after facing one from President Donald Trump that deeply cut into its sale of crude oil abroad and sent its economy into freefall.

Europe has so far been unable to offer Iran a way around the US sanctions.

The escalation follows apparent attacks last week near the Strait of Hormuz on oil tankers, assaults that Washington has blamed on Iran.

While Iran has denied being involved, it laid mines in the 1980s targeting oil tankers around the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil passes. </s> DUBAI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iran announced on Monday it would soon breach limits on the amount of enriched uranium it can stockpile under a 2015 international agreement, in a new point of contention with the United States, which accused Tehran of “nuclear blackmail.”

Tensions between Iran and the United States are rising more than a year after President Donald Trump announced Washington was withdrawing from the nuclear deal. Fears of a confrontation increased last week when oil tankers in the Gulf were attacked.

The accord, which Iran and the other signatories have maintained following Trump’s decision, caps Iran’s stock of low-enriched uranium at 300 kg enriched to 3.67 percent.

But Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said on Monday: “We have quadrupled the rate of enrichment (of uranium) and even increased it more recently, so that in 10 days it will bypass the 300 kg limit.”

“Iran’s reserves are every day increasing at a more rapid rate,” he told state TV, adding that “the move will be reversed once other parties fulfil their commitments.”

The move further undermines the nuclear pact also signed by Russia, Britain, Germany, China and the European Union, but Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the collapse of the deal would not be in the interests of the region or the world.

A White House National Security Council spokesman said Iran’s plan amounted to “nuclear blackmail” and must be met with increased international pressure.

The nuclear deal seeks to head off any pathway to an Iranian nuclear bomb in return for the removal of most international sanctions.

Britain said if Iran breached agreed limits then London would look at “all options.”

Israel, Iran’s arch foe, urged world powers to step up sanctions against Tehran swiftly should it exceed the enriched uranium limit.

However, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the EU would only react to any breach if the International Atomic Energy Agency formally identified one.

U.S.-Iran tensions are growing again following attacks last Thursday on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, a vital oil shipping route. Trump’s administration has accused Iran of being behind the incidents. Iran denies having any role.

Iran’s armed forces chief of staff, Major General Mohammad Baqeri, on Monday denied Tehran was behind the attacks and said if the Islamic Republic decided to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz shipping lane it would do so publicly.

The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, said Tehran was responsible for security in the Gulf and urged U.S. forces to leave the region, state TV said.

Iran on Monday accused its main regional rival Saudi Arabia - a close U.S. ally - of adopting a “militaristic, crisis-based approach” for accusing Tehran of carrying out the tanker attacks.

In May, Tehran said it would reduce compliance with the nuclear pact in protest at the U.S. decision to unilaterally pull out of the agreement and reimpose sanctions.

The accord requires Iran to curb its uranium enrichment capacity, capping Iran’s stock of low-enriched uranium at 300 kg of uranium hexafluoride enriched to 3.67 percent or its equivalent for 15 years. That is far below the 90 percent needed for weapons grade uranium and also below the 20 percent level to which Iran enriched uranium before the deal.

A series of U.N. inspections under the deal have verified that Iran has been meeting its commitments.

Iran’s Rouhani said on Monday that European nations still had time to save the accord.

“It’s a crucial moment, and France can still work with other signatories of the deal and play an historic role to save the deal in this very short time,” Rouhani was quoted as saying during a meeting with France’s new ambassador in Iran.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he regretted Iran’s announcement but that Paris would hold talks with Iran and its partners to avoid any further escalation in the region.

Kamalvandi, in a news conference at Iran’s Arak heavy water nuclear reactor which has been reconfigured under the deal, said Tehran could rebuild the underground facility to make it functional. Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads.

In January, Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi told state TV that “despite pouring concrete in pipes within the core of the Arak reactor ... Iran had purchased pipes for replacement in case the West violated the deal.”

Mojtaba Zolnour, head of parliament’s nuclear committee, said Iran would quit the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty against the spread of nuclear weapons unless European powers saved the 2015 agreement.

The western European signatories to the deal - France, Britain and Germany - have defended it as the best way to limit Iran’s enrichment of uranium.

But Iran has repeatedly criticized delays in setting up a European mechanism that would shield trade with Iran from U.S. sanctions in an effort to save the nuclear deal.

The United States and the IAEA believe Iran had a nuclear weapons program that it abandoned. Tehran denies ever having had one.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday the United States did not want to go to war with Iran but would take every action necessary, including diplomacy, to guarantee safe navigation through Middle East shipping lanes.

Iran said on Monday it had exposed a cyber espionage network, accused the CIA of running it and that several U.S. spies had been arrested in different countries as a result. </s> DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - Iran said on Monday it would breach internationally agreed curbs on its stock of low-enriched uranium in 10 days — a move likely to worsen already high tensions with Washington — but it added European nations still had time to save a landmark nuclear deal.

In a sign of concern at Iran’s announcement, Germany urged Tehran to meet all its obligations under the 2015 accord. Britain said if Iran breached limits agreed under the deal then London would look at “all options”.

Close U.S. ally Israel, Iran’s arch foe, urged world powers to step up sanctions against Tehran swiftly should it exceed the enriched uranium limit.

U.S.-Iran tensions are growing following accusations by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration that Tehran last Thursday attacked two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, a vital oil shipping route. Iran denies having any role.

Iran’s Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Major General Mohammad Baqeri, on Monday denied Tehran was behind the attacks and said if the Islamic Republic decided to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz shipping lane it would do so publicly.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said on state TV that “We have quadrupled the rate of enrichment (of uranium) and even increased it more recently, so that in 10 days it will bypass the 300 kg limit.”

“Iran’s reserves are every day increasing at a more rapid rate.”

Tehran said in May it would reduce compliance with the nuclear pact it agreed with world powers in 2015, in protest at the United States’ decision to unilaterally pull out of the agreement and reimpose sanctions last year.

The deal seeks to head off any pathway to an Iranian nuclear bomb in return for the removal of most international sanctions.

The accord requires Iran to curb its uranium enrichment capacity, capping Iran’s stock of low-enriched uranium at 300 kg of uranium hexafluoride enriched to 3.67 percent or its equivalent for 15 years.

A series of more intrusive U.N. inspections under the deal have verified that Iran has been meeting its commitments.

Urging European signatories to speed up their efforts to salvage the accord, President Hassan Rouhani said its collapse would not be in the interests of the region or the world.

“It’s a crucial moment, and France can still work with other signatories of the deal and play an historic role to save the deal in this very short time,” Rouhani was quoted as saying during a meeting with France’s new ambassador in Iran.

Kamalvandi, in a news conference at Iran’s Arak heavy water nuclear reactor which has been reconfigured under the deal, said Tehran could rebuild the underground facility to make it functional. Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads.

In January, Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi told state TV that “despite pouring concrete in pipes within the core of the Arak reactor ... Iran had purchased pipes for replacement in case the West violated the deal.”

Salehi said that only he and the country’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had knowledge about the additional pipes.

The west European signatories to the deal - France, Britain and Germany - have defended the nuclear accord as the best way to limit Iran’s enrichment of uranium.

But Iran has repeatedly criticised delays in setting up a European mechanism that would shield trade with Iran from U.S. sanctions in an effort to save the nuclear deal.

The United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency believe Iran had a nuclear weapons programme that it abandoned. Tehran denies ever having had one.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday the United States did not want to go to war with Iran but would take every action necessary, including diplomacy, to guarantee safe navigation through Middle East shipping lanes.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. atomic watchdog, declined to comment. Its chief Yukiya Amano said last week that he was worried about rising tensions around Iran’s nuclear programme and he hoped they could be resolved through dialogue.

China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said on Monday the European Union wanted to stick to the Iran nuclear deal but that Iran needed to do the same. </s> DUBAI/LONDON (Reuters) - Iran said on Monday it would breach internationally agreed curbs on its stock of low-enriched uranium in 10 days — a move likely to worsen already high tensions with Washington — but it added European nations still had time to save a landmark nuclear deal.

In a sign of concern at Iran’s announcement, Germany urged Tehran to meet all its obligations under the 2015 accord. Britain said if Iran breached limits agreed under the deal then London would look at “all options”.

Close U.S. ally Israel, Iran’s arch foe, urged world powers to step up sanctions against Tehran swiftly should it exceed the enriched uranium limit.

U.S.-Iran tensions are growing following accusations by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration that Tehran last Thursday attacked two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, a vital oil shipping route. Iran denies having any role.

Iran’s Armed Forces Chief of Staff, Major General Mohammad Baqeri, on Monday denied Tehran was behind the attacks and said if the Islamic Republic decided to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz shipping lane it would do so publicly.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said on state TV that “We have quadrupled the rate of enrichment (of uranium) and even increased it more recently, so that in 10 days it will bypass the 300 kg limit.”

“Iran’s reserves are every day increasing at a more rapid rate.”

Tehran said in May it would reduce compliance with the nuclear pact it agreed with world powers in 2015, in protest at the United States’ decision to unilaterally pull out of the agreement and reimpose sanctions last year.

The deal seeks to head off any pathway to an Iranian nuclear bomb in return for the removal of most international sanctions.

The accord requires Iran to curb its uranium enrichment capacity, capping Iran’s stock of low-enriched uranium at 300 kg of uranium hexafluoride enriched to 3.67 percent or its equivalent for 15 years.

A series of more intrusive U.N. inspections under the deal have verified that Iran has been meeting its commitments.

Urging European signatories to speed up their efforts to salvage the accord, President Hassan Rouhani said its collapse would not be in the interests of the region or the world.

“It’s a crucial moment, and France can still work with other signatories of the deal and play an historic role to save the deal in this very short time,” Rouhani was quoted as saying during a meeting with France’s new ambassador in Iran.

Kamalvandi, in a news conference at Iran’s Arak heavy water nuclear reactor which has been reconfigured under the deal, said Tehran could rebuild the underground facility to make it functional. Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads.

In January, Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi told state TV that “despite pouring concrete in pipes within the core of the Arak reactor ... Iran had purchased pipes for replacement in case the West violated the deal.”

Salehi said that only he and the country’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had knowledge about the additional pipes.

The west European signatories to the deal - France, Britain and Germany - have defended the nuclear accord as the best way to limit Iran’s enrichment of uranium.

But Iran has repeatedly criticized delays in setting up a European mechanism that would shield trade with Iran from U.S. sanctions in an effort to save the nuclear deal.

The United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency believe Iran had a nuclear weapons program that it abandoned. Tehran denies ever having had one.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday the United States did not want to go to war with Iran but would take every action necessary, including diplomacy, to guarantee safe navigation through Middle East shipping lanes.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. atomic watchdog, declined to comment. Its chief Yukiya Amano said last week that he was worried about rising tensions around Iran’s nuclear program and he hoped they could be resolved through dialogue.

China’s Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said on Monday the European Union wanted to stick to the Iran nuclear deal but that Iran needed to do the same. </s> Hassan Rouhani has been sworn in for a second term in office in a Tehran ceremony over the weekend that highlighted European support for the nuclear deal with the west despite Donald Trump’s threats to unilaterally withdraw from the agreement.

Rouhani, who was re-elected in a landslide victory in May, took an oath before parliamentarians and foreign dignitaries, including the EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, and senior diplomats from the UK, France and Germany.

The president said in his speech, which was aired live on the national television, that “Iran would not be the first to pull out of the nuclear deal, but it will not remain silent about the US repeated violations of the accord”. 



Despite his belligerent rhetoric, Trump has twice reluctantly certified Iran’s compliance with the deal, allowing the nuclear-related sanctions to remain suspended, but it has emerged that he has instructed aides to find a way to declare Tehran in violation of the agreement.

“Today is the time for the mother of all negotiations, not the mother of all bombs,” Rouhani said, referring to the US dropping its largest non-nuclear bomb ever used in combat in Afghanistan in April. The Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, was among those present at Rouhani’s inauguration.

“The US has showed a lack of commitment in its implementation of the nuclear deal because its policymakers are addicted to the illegal and futile policy of sanctions and humiliation,” Rouhani said. “This has proved the US to be an unreliable partner to the world and even to its longtime allies.”

Referring to Trump, he added: “We do not wish to engage with political novices ... Those who want to tear up the nuclear deal should know that they will be ripping up their own political life by doing so and the world won’t forget their noncompliance.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency has said in its latest report that Iran was complying with the terms of the agreement, but Tehran has complained the US is reneging on its obligations. Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani, said last week that Tehran had formally complained to the joint commission supervising implementation of the accord over the US senate’s new sanctions against Iranian entities, imposed over Tehran’s testing of missiles.

Mogherini “reiterated the EU’s unwavering commitment to the deal, recalling its historic significance, multilateral dimension and its importance for regional and global stability”, an official statement said.



Local media quoted Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, as telling Mogherini: “Mr Trump is trying to destroy the nuclear accord at Iran’s expense, and Europe should be conscious of this.”

Sadegh Zibakalam, a Tehran University professor, said the inauguration sent a powerful message to Trump. “The fact that Ms Mogherini as the representative of the EU foreign policy was here showed that the EU values the nuclear deal greatly,” he said.

“Internationally, Iran has had a win and a loss,” he said. “Our loss is that Obama is gone and the Democrats have been replaced by the Republicans. The win is that Iran has been successful in strengthening its relations with Europe. The main reason Trump has not been able to dismantle the agreement is that the EU is resisting and the US knows very well that the EU is serious in keeping the nuclear deal.”

In a sign of thawing relations with Europe, Mogherini was popular in Iran. A group of Iranian parliamentarians came under attack domestically after an image circulated online showing them jostling to take a selfie with her. One MP, Farajollah Najafi, apologised after largely negative reactions online.

Many Iranian social media users said the MPs’ behaviour was embarrassing and demeaning and in sharp contrast to women’s rights in Iran. Rouhani has been under pressure in recent weeks to nominate female ministers as he considers a cabinet reshuffle. In 2013, he unveiled his cabinet on the day he was inaugurated, but he has yet to name his new ministers.

Rouhani’s inauguration dominated front pages in Tehran. “Inauguration with an anti-Trump flavour” read the headline of Iranian daily Khorasan. “Rouhani, the 12th tenant of Pastor” read Kelid’s front page, referring to Rouhani as being the 12th president after the 1979 revolution to occupy the presidential palace in Pastor Street, Tehran.

The ultra-conservative newspaper Keyhan was critical of Rouhani’s speech, saying in a headline: “Unveiling the mother of negotiations instead of confronting the mother of sanctions.”

Rouhani’s inauguration came two days after his re-election was formally endorsed by the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who urged the president on Thursday to conduct “extensive interaction with the world”.

Nasser Hadian, a political expert based in Tehran, said the ceremony showed that the world was recognising Iran. “The world understands that, in spite of differences, there is a mechanism inside Iran through the ballot box that helps resolve big issues.”

Hadian said that despite his global advances, Rouhani faces pressure from hardliners domestically. “His opponents want to limit his power in the political sphere, especially in regards to the civil society and social freedoms. They have all the means and the facilities to prevent him from doing so.”

The reformists want him to deliver on social freedoms, especially human rights, Hadian said, but the conservatives want him to remain loyal to revolutionary values. “His biggest challenge and priority in the second term will be the economy.

“The nuclear deal won’t collapse because of Iran. There is a consensus inside the country that the nuclear deal should survive, so Iran won’t violate first, but if the US wants to make excuses and, for example, demand inspection of military sites without any valid evidence then the world knows what the US is up to. The world is not stupid.” </s> TEHRAN — Iran will surpass the uranium-stockpile limit set by its nuclear deal in the next 10 days, an official said Monday, raising pressure on Europeans trying to save the accord a year after the U.S. withdrawal lit the fuse for the heightened tensions now between Tehran and Washington.

The announcement by Iran’s nuclear agency marked yet another deadline set by Tehran. President Hassan Rouhani already has warned Europe that a new deal needs to be in place by July 7 or the Islamic Republic would increase its enrichment of uranium.

Atomic energy spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi suggested that Iran’s enrichment could reach up to 20%, just a step away from weapons-grade levels.

It appears as if Iran has begun its own maximum pressure campaign on the world after facing one from President Trump’s administration that deeply cut into its sale of crude oil abroad and battered its economy. Europe has so far been unable to offer Iran a way around the U.S. sanctions.

The development follows apparent attacks last week in the Strait of Hormuz on oil tankers, assaults that Washington has blamed on Iran. While Iran has denied being involved, it laid mines in the 1980s targeting oil tankers around the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil passes.

“If this condition continues, there will be no deal” anymore, Kamalvandi said. He accused the Europeans of “killing time” as the clock runs down.

Rouhani, greeting France’s new ambassador to Tehran on Monday, similarly warned that time was running out on the deal.

“The current situation is very critical and France and the other parties to the (deal) still have a very limited opportunity to play their historic role for saving the deal,” Rouhani said, according to his website.

Under terms of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Iran can keep a stockpile of no more than 660 pounds of low-enriched uranium. Kamalvandi said that given Iran’s recent decision to quadruple its production of low-enriched uranium, it would pass the limit on June 27.

The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said last month that Iran remained within its stockpile limits and declined to comment on Iran’s announcement. Kamalvandi said Iran would continue to allow the U.N. to inspect its nuclear facilities for the time being.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the international community should reinstate sanctions if Iran follows through on its threats, adding: “In any case, Israel will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.”

Tensions have risen in the region since last month. The U.S. rushed an aircraft carrier strike group and other military assets to the Middle East in response to what it said were threats from Iran. </s> DUBAI, June 18 — Iran said yesterday it would soon breach limits on how much enriched uranium it can stockpile under a 2015 agreement rejected by the United States, in a new point of contention with Washington which accused Tehran of “nuclear blackmail.”

Tensions between Iran and the United States are rising more than a year after President Donald Trump announced Washington was withdrawing from the nuclear deal.

Fears of a confrontation have mounted since last Thursday when two oil tankers in the Gulf were attacked, which the United States has blamed on Tehran. The US military yesterday released images that it says show Iran's Revolutionary Guard removing an unexploded limpet mine from one of the tankers.

Two US officials speaking on condition of anonymity told Reuters yesterday the United States is preparing to send additional troops to the Middle East in response to mounting concerns over Iran. They did not provide details on how many or the timing.

On May 24, Washington announced the deployment of 1,500 troops to the region in reaction to tanker attacks in May that it also blamed on Iran.

The 2015 accord, which Iran and the other signatories have maintained following Trump's decision, caps Iran's stock of low-enriched uranium at 300 kg enriched to 3.67 per cent.

But Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said yesterday: “We have quadrupled the rate of enrichment (of uranium) and even increased it more recently, so that in 10 days it will bypass the 300 kg limit.”

“Iran's reserves are every day increasing at a more rapid rate,” he told state TV, adding that “the move will be reversed once other parties fulfil their commitments.”

The move further undermines the nuclear pact also signed by Russia, Britain, Germany, China and the European Union, but Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the collapse of the deal would not be in the interests of the region or the world.

A White House National Security Council spokesman said Iran's plan amounted to “nuclear blackmail” and must be met with increased international pressure.

The nuclear deal seeks to head off any pathway to an Iranian nuclear bomb in return for the removal of most international sanctions.

Britain said if Iran breached agreed limits then London would look at “all options.”

Israel, Iran's arch foe, urged world powers to step up sanctions against Tehran swiftly should it exceed the enriched uranium limit.

However, European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said the EU would only react to any breach if the International Atomic Energy Agency formally identified one.

Trump's administration has accused Iran of being behind the explosions on tankers in the Gulf of Oman, a vital oil shipping route.

Iran's armed forces chief of staff, Major General Mohammad Baqeri, yesterday denied Tehran was behind the attacks and said if the Islamic Republic decided to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz shipping lane it would do so publicly.

The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, said Tehran was responsible for security in the Gulf and urged US forces to leave the region, state TV said.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has spoken to officials from the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, China, Kuwait, South Korea, Britain and other countries to share evidence of Iran's involvement in the attacks on the Norwegian and Japanese tankers, a senior State Department official said.

Iran yesterday accused its main regional rival Saudi Arabia — a close US ally — of adopting a “militaristic, crisis-based approach” for accusing Tehran of carrying out the tanker attacks.

In May, Tehran said it would reduce compliance with the nuclear pact in protest at the US decision to unilaterally pull out of the agreement and reimpose sanctions.

The accord requires Iran to curb its uranium enrichment capacity, capping Iran’s stock of low-enriched uranium at 300 kg of uranium hexafluoride enriched to 3.67 percent or its equivalent for 15 years. That is far below the 90 percent needed for weapons grade uranium and also below the 20 per cent level to which Iran enriched uranium before the deal.

A series of UN inspections under the deal have verified that Iran has been meeting its commitments.

Iran's Rouhani said yesterday that European nations still had time to save the accord.

“It's a crucial moment, and France can still work with other signatories of the deal and play an historic role to save the deal in this very short time,” Rouhani was quoted as saying during a meeting with France's new ambassador in Iran.

French President Emmanuel Macron said he regretted Iran's announcement but that Paris would hold talks with Iran and its partners to avoid any further escalation in the region.

Kamalvandi, in a news conference at Iran's Arak heavy water nuclear reactor which has been reconfigured under the deal, said Tehran could rebuild the underground facility to make it functional. Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads.

In January, Iran's nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi told state TV that “despite pouring concrete in pipes within the core of the Arak reactor ... Iran had purchased pipes for replacement in case the West violated the deal.”

The United States and the IAEA believe Iran had a nuclear weapons program that it abandoned. Tehran denies ever having had one.

Pompeo said on Sunday the United States did not want to go to war with Iran but would take every action necessary, including diplomacy, to guarantee safe navigation through Middle East shipping lanes. — Reuters
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani tells the Fars News Agency "the time is short for Europe to save the international nuclear deal", and calls on France to take the lead. Reuters reports that Rouhani added the collapse of the nuclear deal would not be in the interests of the region and the world.