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A10 WORLD NEWS
Thursday 9 May 2019
Iran threatens more uranium enrichment if no new nuke deal

By AMIR VAHDAT and Syria, has vowed to
JON GAMBRELL never allow Iran to obtain
Associated Press an atomic weapon.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran Apparently responding to
threatened Wednesday to that, the general staff of
enrich its uranium stockpile Iran's armed forces issued
closer to weapons-grade a statement applauding
levels in 60 days if world Rouhani's decision and
powers fail to negotiate warning its enemies.
new terms for its 2015 nu- "Any possible movement
clear deal, raising regional by them will face a regret-
tensions as a U.S. aircraft table response by Iranian
carrier and bombers head- nation and its armed forc-
ed to the Middle East to es," the statement said, ac-
confront Tehran. cording to the semi-official
A televised address by Pres- Fars news agency.
ident Hassan Rouhani, who The 2015 deal lifted sanc-
once pledged that the tions on Iran in exchange
landmark deal would draw for limits on its nuclear pro-
Iran closer to the West, saw gram. It reached the deal
the cleric instead pressure after years of negotiations,
Europe to shield Tehran including secret talks in
from the sanctions imposed Oman between Iran and
by President Donald Trump the administration of former
withdrawing the U.S. from In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Has- President Barack Obama.
the agreement exactly a san Rouhani heads a cabinet meeting in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, May 8, 2019. The U.S. withdrew from the
year earlier. Associated Press deal under Trump, whose
Rouhani's threats put the administration contends
world on notice that it can- sia, and to sell its heavy wa- Iran notified Britain, Russia, Pompeo, in London, said the accord should have
not continue to rely on Iran ter, which is used as a cool- China, the European Union, America "will wait and ob- limited Iran's ballistic missile
complying with terms of the ant in nuclear reactors, to France and Germany of its serve" what Iran does next. program and what it de-
unraveling deal in the com- Oman. decision earlier in the day. "They have made have scribes as Tehran's malign
ing weeks. Meanwhile, a In 60 days, if no new deal All were signatories to the made a number of state- regional influence.
U.S. campaign of sanctions is in place, Iran will increase nuclear deal and continue ments about actions they However, the U.N.'s atomic
hammering Iran's anemic its enrichment of uranium to support it. Iranian Foreign have threatened to do in watchdog, the Internation-
economy and blocking beyond the accord-permit- Minister Mohammad Ja- order to get the world to al Atomic Energy Agency,
its sale of oil on the global ted 3.67%, which can fuel a vad Zarif met Wednesday jump," Pompeo said. repeatedly has verified
market is only making life commercial nuclear power in Moscow with his Russian Rouhani also made an im- that Iran stuck to terms of
worse, putting further pres- plant. Rouhani did not say counterpart Sergey Lavrov plicit threat as well to Eu- the deal. The agency did
sure on both its Shiite the- how far Iran would be will- and offered a letter as well. rope, saying Iran now co- not respond to a request
ocracy and its 80 million ing to enrich, although the "If the five countries join ne- operates on issues like tar- for comment Wednesday.
people. head of its nuclear pro- gotiations and help Iran to geting Afghan opium and After the U.S. withdrew from
Later Wednesday, Trump gram again reiterated Iran reach its benefits in the field hashish traffickers and con- the accord, it restored the
issued an executive order could reach 20% enrich- of oil and banking, Iran will trolling immigration. crippling sanctions, exacer-
announcing new sanctions ment within four days. return to its commitments "You are obliged ... for your bating a severe economic
targeting Iran's steel, alumi- Once a country enriches according to the nuclear own security, for protecting crisis. The Iranian rial, which
num, copper and iron sec- uranium to around 20%, sci- deal," Rouhani said. your youths against drugs traded at 32,000 to $1 at the
tors, which provide foreign entists say the time needed Zarif separately issued his as well as controlling influx time of the accord, traded
currency earnings for Teh- to reach the 90% threshold own warning from Moscow. of immigrants," the presi- Wednesday at 153,500.
ran. for weapons-grade ura- "After a year of patience, dent said. That Iran chose to keep
Rouhani earlier compared nium is halved. Iran long Iran stops measures that British Foreign Secretary its excess uranium and
the situation to a medical has maintained its nuclear (the) US has made impossi- Jeremy Hunt called Iran's heavy water first, rather
emergency for the Islamic program is for peaceful ble to continue," he tweet- threat to resume higher than abandon the accord
Republic, only 40 years af- purposes. However, Iranian ed. World powers have "a enrichment of uranium an in its entirety, shows it still
ter its founding. state television's English- narrowing window to re- "unwelcome step." French hopes to secure a deal. In
"We felt that the nuclear language service Press TV, verse this." Defense Secretary Flor- years of negotiations over
deal needs a surgery, and citing sources close to pres- Reaction came swiftly from ence Parly was much more its nuclear program, Iran
the painkiller pills of the last idency, said the country Israeli Prime Minister Benja- dire. "Nothing would be similarly has gone step-by-
year have been ineffec- would withdraw from the min Netanyahu, a staunch worse than Iran leaving this step in ramping its activities
tive," Rouhani said. "This sur- Nuclear Nonproliferation critic of Iran and the nucle- deal," he told BMFTV. while holding talks. It also
gery is for saving the deal, Treaty if Europeans sought ar deal. Iran's move comes at a protects Rouhani, a rela-
not destroying it." to sanction Iran at the U.N. "I heard that Iran intends sensitive moment in the tive moderate cleric within
Iran on Wednesday Security Council. to continue its nuclear pro- wider Middle East. The Iran's Shiite theocracy, from
stopped its sale of excess Rouhani also said that if the gram. We will not allow Iran White House said it dis- criticism by hard-liners who
uranium and heavy water 60 days pass without ac- to obtain nuclear weap- patched the aircraft carrier long maintained Iran gave
as a first step, Rouhani said, tion, Iran will halt a Chinese- ons," Netanyahu said. "We USS Abraham Lincoln and up too much in the nuclear
something required under led effort to redesign its will continue to fight those B-52 bombers to the Persian deal.
the deal. The U.S. last week Arak heavy water nuclear who seek to take our lives, Gulf over what it described On the streets of Tehran,
ended deals allowing Iran reactor. Such reactors pro- and we will thrust our roots as a new threat from Iran. the mood was mixed as
to exchange its enriched duce plutonium that can even deeper into the soil of Israel, which has conduct- people are struggling to
uranium for unrefined yel- be used in nuclear weap- our homeland." ed pre-emptive bombings make ends meet as the Ira-
lowcake uranium with Rus- ons. U.S. Secretary of State Mike of nuclear facilities in Iraq nian currency collapses.q