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Iran's nuclear program

Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium reportedly exceed 300kg, media reports say

Earlier, it was reported that Tehran plans to waive its commitment not to enrich uranium to more than 3.67%

© EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH

MOSCOW, July 1. /TASS/. Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium have exceeded the 300 kilogram limit set in the Iran nuclear deal, Fars News Agency said on Monday citing a source familiar with latest data from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

"After measuring Iran's enriched materials last Wednesday, inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) weighed them again today and (said that) Iran's stockpile has exceeded 300kg," the source was quoted as saying.

Read also

OPEC+ Monitoring Committee supports extending deal for 9 months — sources

Earlier in the day, Tasnim agency said that Iran would continue to reduce its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) after July 7, despite the launch of Europe’s INSTEX interbank mechanism. Thus, Tehran plans to waive its commitment not to enrich uranium to more than 3.67% and to return to the initial plan of the modernization of the reactor at Arak that had been adopted before the signing of the nuclear deal, which provided for a possibility of producing weapons plutonium.

Situation around JCPOA

The JCPOA, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, was signed between Iran and six international mediators (the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Russia, the United States, and France) in July 2015. Under the deal, Iran undertook to curb its nuclear activities and place them under total control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in exchange of abandonment of the sanctions imposed previously by the United Nations Security Council, the European Union and the United States over its nuclear program.

On May 8, 2018, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the deal and imposed economic sanctions seeking to stop Iranian oil exports.

On May 8, 2019, or exactly a year after the United States’ withdrawal, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared he was suspending some of Iran’s obligations under the JCPOA. In part, he said that Tehran would resume uranium enrichment and terminate the conversion of the heavy water reactor at Arak, if the signatories to the deal fail to comply with the conditions of the agreement, including those concerning banking and oil trade, within a 60-day deadline that expires on July 7.

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