TEHRAN: Iran declared on Sunday that it would drop sanctions on uranium enrichment, taking another step from adherence to a 2015 nuclear deal with six major powers, but would continue to work with the United Nations nuclear watchdog.
Iran was expected this weekend to reveal its new stand on the contract. The announcement coincided with a significant outbreak of tensions with Washington after the U.S. killing of top Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike in Baghdad on Friday.
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State television claimed that Iran would not comply with any limitations set by the agreement on the country’s nuclear activity, whether it is the ceiling on its number of uranium enrichment centrifuges to its enrichment capability, the degree at which uranium could be enriched, the amount of enriched uranium stockpiled or Iran’s nuclear research and development activities.
After US President Donald Trump’s exit from the agreement, relations between Tehran and Washington deteriorated sharply, Iran blamed European powers for refusing to save the pact and protecting its economy from US sanctions.
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Washington believes the “maximum leverage” policy it launched the following withdrawing from the nuclear deal would push Iran to negotiate a more comprehensive deal, including its ballistic missile program and its role in conflicts in the Middle East. Iran insists it’s not going to negotiate a new deal.
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