Iran yesterday said it would pursue nuclear talks with European nations in the coming days while ratcheting up pressure on its partners to salvage a landmark 2015 deal by announcing that it had abandoned restrictions on uranium enrichment.
Iranian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi said his country has not closed the diplomatic pathway with Europe and that the US could join talks if it would remove the sanctions it has imposed since quitting the accord a year ago.
Those penalties provoked Tehran to scale back compliance, fueling concerns that the region was sliding to war.
“On the condition that sanctions are removed, there is no barrier to the presence of the Americans in the negotiations,” Araghchi said in Tehran. “The fact that the Europeans haven’t yet managed to meet our demands doesn’t mean that diplomatic consultations have been closed.”
Iran 60 days ago threatened to abandon some of its commitments under the deal if Europe did not meet a yesterday deadline to relieve sanctions that include penalties for buying Iranian oil, the country’s economic lifeline.
A week ago, Tehran exceeded the cap on its stockpile of low-grade uranium, and yesterday said it would resume purifying uranium beyond the 3.67 percent allowed under the nuclear agreement, without saying to what level.
Uranium must be enriched to 90 percent to build weapons, though lower levels would be considered a breakthrough.
Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiee also said Tehran would reduce its commitments under the accord every 60 days unless other parties help shield it from the brunt of the sanctions.
France, Germany and the UK have delivered a financial channel known as Instex that is aimed at protecting some trade with Iran — most likely food and medicine — from the threat of US penalties.
However, Iran wants a trade vehicle that can be used to buy oil.
European leaders have signaled they would not rush to slap penalties on Iran, but they would find it increasingly hard to resist pressure from the administration of US President Donald Trump if Tehran abandons multiple commitments.
On Saturday night, France and Iran agreed to work to resume nuclear talks by the middle of this month, presenting a potential diplomatic opening.
“This is a very, very dangerous step,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in public remarks to his Cabinet.
“Iran has violated its solemn promise under the UN Security Council not to enrich uranium beyond a certain level,” he said.
“I call on my friends, the heads of France, Britain and Germany — you signed this deal and you said that as soon as they take this step, severe sanctions will be imposed — that was the Security Council resolution. Where are you?” Netanyahu said.
Iran’s outreach “really shows that the Islamic Republic is still interested in ensuring that the JCPOA continues and that dialogue continues,” said Saeed Leylaz, an economist and former adviser to former Iranian president Mohammed Khatami, using an acronym for the accord.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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