Iran will not give the European signatories to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal additional time to keep the agreement alive by protecting the country from US sanctions, a spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said on Wednesday. This means that Europe has until July 8 to find a way to effectively mitigate sanctions before Iran will start enriching uranium to a level that exceeds the cap specified in the accord.
The US abandoned the nuclear deal last year. Ever since, US-Iran relations have deteriorated drastically. The situation seems to have reached a critical point in the last week, with the US accusing Iran of carrying out the recent attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, and Iran warning that it will soon exceed the maximum amount of enriched uranium the country is allowed to store under the Iran deal.
The European signatories to the Iran deal (Britain, France and Germany) are working on a payment system that will allow for indirect trade between Iranian firms and companies from other countries as a way of circumventing US sanctions on the country. Europe is hoping that this system will keep Iran committed to the agreement.
Read more: Iran says it will not give Europe more time to save nuclear deal
