After Iran announced on Saturday that it was injecting gas into advanced IR6 centrifuges to boost the country's stockpile of enriched uranium as the 3rd step to scale back on its JCPOA commitments, the United Kingdom called Iran's move 'particularly disappointing'.
“This third step away from its commitments under the nuclear deal is particularly disappointing at a time when we and our European and international partners are working hard to de-escalate tensions with Iran,” the Foreign Office said in a statement on Saturday, according to the AFP.
In the face of lack of action by the other parties to safeguard Iran's legitimate rights stipulated in the deal, on May 8, the anniversary of the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal (JCPOA), Iran announced that it was partially discontinuing its obligations under the JCPOA and urged nuclear deal remaining signatories – China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom – to shield Tehran from Washington's sanctions.
Tehran says its countermeasures fit within its rights under paragraphs 26 and 36 of the nuclear deal, and that it will reverse the measures once its demands are met.
As a first step, Iran increased its enriched uranium stockpile to a level above the 300 kilograms set by the JCPOA. In the second step, Tehran began enriching uranium to purity rates beyond the JCPOA-limit of 3.76 percent.
The Iranian President said on Wednesday night that the country will expand its nuclear research and development as the third step to scale back on its JCPOA obligations.
Details of the third step was announced by the AEOI spokesman during a press conference on Saturday. Behrouz Kamalvandi the IAEA had been informed about Iran's new nuclear steps, adding that the UN watchdog will continue to monitor Iran's nuclear activities.
The acting head of IAEA, Cornel Feruta, will arrive in Tehran tomorrow to meet with Iranian.
KI/PR