For the second time this week, Iran has announced measures that represent a step away from compliance with the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that was abandoned by the United States last year. On Wednesday, Iranian state TV reported that the country has began injecting uranium gas into centrifuges at the Fordow nuclear facility. The agreement specifically prohibits the use of nuclear material at Fordow. As a result, the site will now be considered an active nuclear site instead of a research plant.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced that uranium enrichment operations at Fordow would soon return to maximum capacity, adding that the United States is to blame for the recent moves. In response to the news, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that “for the first time, Iran has decided in an explicit and blunt manner to leave the JCPOA (nuclear) agreement, which marks a profound shift.”
Iran had announced on Monday that it launched 30 new nuclear centrifuges that enrich uranium 10 times faster than the older centrifuges used by the regime. Earlier this year, the country already took three different steps in violation of the agreement, supposedly out of frustration with US sanctions and the alleged inaction of the deal’s European signatories when it came to helping Tehran avoid those sanctions.
Read more: Iran starts injecting uranium gas into centrifuges at Fordow: TV
