DUBAI/LONDON — Iran said on Monday it would breach internationally agreed curbs on its stock of low-enriched uranium in 10 days -- a move likely to worsen already high tensions with Washington -- but it added European nations still had time to save a landmark nuclear deal.
In a sign of concern at Iran's announcement, Germany urged Tehran to meet all its obligations under the 2015 accord. Britain said if Iran breached limits agreed under the deal then London would look at "all options".
Israel urged world powers to step up sanctions against Tehran swiftly should it exceed the enriched uranium limit.
Iran's Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said on state TV that "We have quadrupled the rate of enrichment (of uranium) and even increased it more recently, so that in 10 days it will bypass the 300 kg limit."
"Iran's reserves are every day increasing at a more rapid rate."
Urging European signatories to speed up their efforts to salvage the accord, President Hassan Rohani said its collapse would not be in the interests of the region or the world.
"It's a crucial moment, and France can still work with other signatories of the deal and play an historic role to save the deal in this very short time," Rohani was quoted as saying during a meeting with France's new ambassador in Iran.
Kamalvandi, in a news conference at Iran's Arak heavy water nuclear reactor which has been reconfigured under the deal, said Tehran could rebuild the underground facility to make it functional. Heavy water can be employed in reactors to produce plutonium, a fuel used in nuclear warheads.
The United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency believe Iran had a nuclear weapons program that it abandoned. Tehran denies ever having had one.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday the United States did not want to go to war with Iran but would take every action necessary, including diplomacy, to guarantee safe navigation through Middle East shipping lanes.
International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano said last week that he was worried about rising tensions around Iran’s nuclear program and he hoped they could be resolved through dialogue. — Reuters
