Iran passes Uranium enrichment limit set by 2015 deal

Iran has passed the 3.67% uranium enrichment cap set by its landmark 2015 nuclear deal and may enrich at even higher levels, the spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation, Behrouz Kamalvandi, said on Monday according to the IRIB news agency.

Iran said on Sunday it would shortly boost uranium enrichment above the cap, prompting a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump, who wants the pact renegotiated, that Tehran “better be careful”. He didn’t elaborate on what actions the U.S. might consider, but Trump told reporters: “Iran’s doing a lot of bad things.”

On July 1, Iran passed the uranium stockpile limit permitted by the deal, and officials on Sunday pledged to keep scaling back their commitments every 60 days unless Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia protected it from the punishing sanctions imposed by the US following its withdrawal.

Iran remains open to diplomacy to save its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers but has “no hope” in the international community, the country’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said Monday, as the Islamic Republic broke the limit the agreement put on its enrichment of uranium.

Abbas Mousavi said he had no information on how far Iran had taken its enrichment, though a top aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei previously suggested Iran had a need for 5%-enriched uranium.

Under the nuclear deal, the cap for enrichment was set at 3.67%, a percentage closely monitored by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog. The IAEA said it was waiting for a report from its inspectors before commenting on Iran’s move.

Enriched uranium at the 3.67% level is enough for peaceful pursuits but is far below weapons-grade levels of 90%.