Netanyahu urges European nations to sanction Iran over uranium breach

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls on European states to impose sanctions on Iran, after it said it breached an agreed ceiling on its enriched uranium reserves.

“You committed yourselves to act as soon as Iran violated the nuclear agreement,” a statement from his office quotes him as saying. “So I say to you: Do it. Just do it.”

Iran said Monday that it had exceeded a limit on its enriched uranium reserves set under a 2015 nuclear deal that has edged towards collapse, as the US imposes a “maximum pressure” campaign on the Islamic Republic. The United States withdrew from the nuclear deal last year and reimposed biting sanctions on Iran’s crucial oil exports and financial transactions as well as other sectors.

Tehran, which has sought to pressure the remaining parties to save the deal, on May 8 announced it would no longer respect the limit set on its enriched uranium and heavy water stockpiles.

“Israel will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon,” Netanyahu says in the statement. “I am also calling on all European countries. Honor your commitment. You committed to activate the automatic sanctions mechanism set by the (UN) Security Council.”

— AFP