Dubai, July 8: United States President Donald Trump on Sunday warned Iran “to be careful” from America soon after Tehran said it will shortly begin to boost its uranium-enrichment process beyond the limit set under a landmark 2015 international nuclear pact.
According to Reuters news reports, senior Iranian officials reiterated threats of further breaches, stating the nation would continue reducing its obligation to the pact every 60 days unless other European signatories of the accord attempt to prevent it from US sanctions.
Iranian atomic energy organization’s spokesperson Behrouz Kamalvandi said, “We are fully prepared to enrich uranium at any level and with any amount.”
Referring to the 2015 INF treaty limit, he added, “In a few hours the technical process will come to an end and the enrichment beyond 3.67% will begin.”
Iran has announced it will begin enriching uranium beyond the limit
set in its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers – "in a few hours."Read more: https://t.co/I2MOKtZ0Xo pic.twitter.com/huRwk0d615
— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) July 7, 2019
Interacting with reports in Morristown, New Jersey, Trump threatened Iran, saying, “Iran better be careful. If you enrich for one reason and I won’t tell you what that reason is but it’s no good. They’d better be careful.”
He said Iran currently is “doing a lot of bad things”, though he didn’t make efforts to elaborate. He added, “The way they want it, they would have automatic rights to have nuclear weapons. Iran will never have a nuclear weapon.”
Meanwhile, Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, threatened further sanctions against Iran. He took it to Twitter, saying, “Iran’s latest expansion of its nuclear programme will lead to further isolation and sanctions,” he added.
He added: “Nations should restore the long-standing standard of no enrichment for Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran’s regime, armed with nuclear weapons, would pose an even greater danger to the world.”
Iran’s latest expansion of its nuclear program will lead to further isolation and sanctions. Nations should restore the longstanding standard of no enrichment for Iran’s nuclear program. Iran’s regime, armed with nuclear weapons, would pose an even greater danger to the world.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) July 7, 2019
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated the actions were extremely harmful and was aimed at creating nuclear weapons, and reiterated calls on European signatories to impose necessary sanctions on Iran. However, Tehran has dismissed claims of developing any nuclear weapon.
French President Emmanuel Macron criticized Tehran’s decision calling it a “violation” of the accord which the US has pulled out of last May.
British foreign office’s spokesperson said Iran must reverse its actions and immediately cease its activities. The European Union (EU) has strongly urged Tehran to cease its actions that would breach the treaty, stating it was in contact with other signatories nations and hope to set up a joint panel in order to examine the matter.
Jon Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said, “The Iranian government is trying to create a crisis that will force a multilateral negotiation without precipitating a war.”
Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has on Sunday said Iran’s actions were “reversible” if the other parties fulfilled their commitments to the pact.