Middle East/North Africa

Iran announces it has passed uranium enrichment limit

Iran announced Monday that it has passed the 3.67 percent uranium enrichment cap set under the Obama-era nuclear deal, Reuters reported. 

Behrouz Kamalvandi, a spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, told the IRIB news agency about the latest breach of the nuclear deal, Reuters noted.

“Twenty percent is not needed now, but if we want we will produce it. When we’ve put aside 3.67 percent enrichment we have no obstacle or problem with this action,” Kamalvandi is quoted as saying, according to the news service.{mosads}

Iranian officials warned Tehran would be surpassing the cap Sunday

Speaking to reporters Sunday before boarding Air Force One in New Jersey, President Trump said “Iran better be careful.”

“Because you enrich for one reason and I won’t tell you what the reason is. But it’s no good they better be careful,” Trump said. 

Iran had also announced it was quadrupling its uranium production capacity, and gave remaining signatories of the multinational nuclear deal a July 7 deadline before further increasing uranium enrichment levels. 

Trump withdrew the U.S. from the deal in 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Tehran. 

French President Emmanuel Macron and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani have reportedly agreed to resume talks this month to save the nuclear deal.