Zarif reminds European powers Iran can enrich uranium under nuclear deal

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif issues a “reminder” to European powers that Tehran is allowed to enrich uranium under its nuclear deal, after a senior French diplomat claimed otherwise.

“There is no prohibition on the enrichment of uranium by Iran,” Zarif tweets.

“Might be useful for European partners to actually read the document they signed on to, and pledged to defend,” he adds.

Reminder to our E3 partners in #JCPOA: There is NO prohibition on the enrichment of uranium by Iran under #NPT, JCPOA or UNSCR 2231.
Neither now, nor in 2025 or beyond.
Might be useful for European partners to actually read the document they signed on to, and pledged to defend.

— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) April 15, 2019

His comments are addressed to France, Germany and Britain who signed up to the landmark 2015 accord with Tehran under which uranium enrichment is curtailed but not banned. They come in response to France’s ambassador to Washington declaring: “It’s false to say that at the expiration of the JCPOA (nuclear deal), Iran will be allowed to enrich uranium.”

The claim on Saturday by Gerard Araud has since been deleted from his Twitter account.

Under the 2015 agreement, Iran can only enrich uranium to 3.67 percent — far below the roughly 90-percent level needed for nuclear weapons.

The European powers have vowed to stand by the historic nuclear deal despite the United States pulling out of the agreement last year and imposing sanctions on Iran. The UN atomic watchdog in February reported Tehran has been abiding by the terms of the accord despite Washington’s pullout.

— AFP