Iran announces details of the “third step” in revising nuclear commitments

Tabnak – After the European parties of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran once again failed to live up to their commitments in preserving Iran’s economic benefits from the deal, the Islamic Republic announced the details of the third phase of reducing its nuclear commitments.

Spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi on Saturday announced details of the country’s third step in reducing commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal known, as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“After (reaching) the JCPOA, we were faced with non-commitments, whose culmination was the US withdrawal from the agreement,” Kamalvandi told reporters at a press conference in Tehran on Saturday.

Iran’s Establishment has decided to create a balance in the commitments under the deal until the other side returns to its undertakings, he added. “One of Iran’s commitments under the JCPOA is related to the re-design of the Arak reactor,” he said, adding, “Another is about production of heavy water.”

“The third issue is the reprocessing of spent (nuclear) fuel. Another is the level of enrichment. The next is research and development. Three other issues are Fordow, the stockpiles, and the IAEA’s supervision and access (to Iran’s nuclear sites),” he went on to say.

He also said the reduction of JCPOA commitments related to research and development will facilitate the enrichment of uranium up to a level of 1,000,000 SWU. Today, the reduction of commitments related to four of the above-mentioned issues has begun, he noted.

He also said Iran has started feeding uranium gas into chains of 20 advanced IR6 centrifuges as well as IR4 centrifuges.

The third step comes after the Europeans failed to meet a 60-day deadline to meet Iran’s demands and fulfill their commitments under the deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani first announced the decision to expand research and development (R&D) work beyond JCPOA limits on Tuesday. He gave the other side 60 more days to fulfill its commitments.

Iran says its retaliatory measures will be reversible as soon as Europe finds practical ways to shield the mutual trade from US sanctions, which were reimposed last year when United States President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal.

Meanwhile, The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog says it has inspectors on the ground in Iran who will be able to look into reports that Tehran began injecting uranium gas into advanced centrifuges.

Meanwhile, IAEA Acting Director-General Cornel Feruta is traveling to Iran Saturday. The agency said he would meet Sunday with high-ranking officials in Tehran as part of what it said were its “ongoing interactions” related to its monitoring under the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers. The IAEA, which issues compliance reports, meets in Vienna on Monday.