E3 accuse Iran of “unprecedented” uranium stockpile levels “without civilian justification”
Shafaq News/ The UK, France, and Germany accused Iran, on Tuesday, of increasing its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to "unprecedented levels,” calling on it to "reverse its nuclear escalation."
Iran defends its right to pursue nuclear energy for “peaceful purposes,” particularly for electricity generation, and denies any intention to develop an atomic bomb, as suspected by Western nations.
Ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on Tehran's nuclear program, the E3 (France, Germany, and the UK) stated, “Iran’s stockpile of High Enriched Uranium has also reached unprecedented levels, again without any credible civilian justification. It gives Iran the capability to rapidly produce sufficient fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons.”
“Iran has ramped up its installation of advanced centrifuges, which is yet another damaging step in Iran’s efforts to undermine the nuclear deal that they claim to support,” the trio added.
Last week, the three countries reminded that the mechanism in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal could be invoked, allowing for the reimposition of sanctions on Tehran.
In 2015, Iran signed the nuclear agreement in Vienna with France, Germany, the UK, China, Russia, and the US, allowing international oversight of its nuclear program in exchange for sanction relief. However, in 2018, President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal and reimposed sanctions, prompting Tehran to significantly increase its stockpiles of enriched materials.
Iran is the only country with uranium enriched to 60 percent without possessing a nuclear weapon, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The threshold for nuclear weapon-grade enrichment is 90 percent.
In a briefing to the UN Security Council, Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said the parties had reached a "deadlock" with less than ten months left before the UN resolution on the 2015 agreement expires.
In turn, Iran's Ambassador to the UN, Amir Saeid Iravani, rejected the accusations, stating that “it was Western countries, not Iran, that had failed to honor their commitments,” calling the claims against Iran "arbitrary and misleading."
