Iran will breach the uranium stockpile limits set by a 2015 multinational nuclear deal within the next 10 days, according to an Iranian official — further escalating weeks of tension between Tehran, Washington and the nuclear deal’s other signatories.
The announcement Monday from Behrouz Kamalvandi, a spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, comes amid ongoing diplomatic fallout from what appeared to be an attack on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week. The Trump administration has blamed Iran for the tanker explosions, while Tehran has denied responsibility.
Kamalvandi’s remarks were initially reported by multiple media outlets, including the Associated Press.
Trump in May 2018 announced the U.S. would withdraw from the nuclear deal, citing Tehran’s behavior outside the deal’s framework as well as issues with the agreement itself, and has since imposed punishing sanctions on Iran in an effort to force Tehran back to the negotiating table.
The pact’s European partners have sought to salvage the agreement, and Kamalvandi said Monday that Tehran could honor its prior commitments when the signatories take “practical measures” to accommodate Tehran’s demands, according to Iran’s Tasnim News Agency. Those demands include allowing Iran to circumnavigate U.S. sanctions by giving it access to international financial systems and making up for lost oil revenue.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani previously warned last month that Tehran would exceed its uranium enrichment limit in 60 days if the nuclear deal’s remaining partners did not take steps to blunt the effects of the American sanctions.