France, the United Kingdom, Germany and the European Union expressed on Tuesday concern over the recent Iranian decision to scale up uranium enrichment activities, something that breaches the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known as the Iranian nuclear deal, the top diplomats’ joint statement said.
“The Foreign Ministers of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom and the High Representative express deep concern that Iran is pursuing activities inconsistent with its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” the statement said.
The top diplomats called on Iran to comply with the JCPOA.
“Iran has stated that it wants to remain within the JCPOA. It must act accordingly by reversing these activities and returning to full JCPOA compliance without delay,” the statement stressed.
The diplomats also called for creating a special commission on preserving the JCPOA.
“These compliance issues must be addressed within the framework of the JCPOA, and a Joint Commission should be convened urgently. We call on all parties to act responsibly towards deescalating ongoing tensions regarding Iran’s nuclear activities,” the statement added.
On Monday, Iran said it had started to enrich uranium beyond the limit, outlined in the nuclear deal. On the same day, the Iranian statement was confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
On May 8, 2018, Washington fully withdrew from the JCPOA and reimposed sanctions on Iran. A year after, Tehran announced the decision to suspend some of its obligations under the agreement, giving the other nuclear deal signatories – France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, China and the European Union – 60 days to save the accord by facilitating oil exports and trade with Iran amid US sanctions.
Amid escalating tensions with Washington, Iran has threatened to exceed the limit on the uranium supply permitted under the 2015 nuclear pact.