TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran announced on Wednesday it had begun producing enriched uranium at least 4.5 percent, a level banned by the International Compact on its nuclear program in 2015 and threatening that the third phase of the reduction of obligations under the nuclear deal would be " European Union to Tehran to "suspend" its nuclear activities.
Iran's Atomic Energy Agency (ISNA) spokesman Behruz Kamalundi said Iran's uranium enrichment rate had reached 4.5 percent this morning.
According to the agency, Kamalundi also said that «Iran exceeded the limit of 4.5% in uranium enrichment». "This degree of purity is quite sufficient to meet the country's fuel needs for its nuclear plant," he said.
The Iranian news agency Fars quoted Kamalundi as saying that Iran is currently preparing its options for the third phase of the reduction of pledges, revealing that among them is to raise the level of enrichment to 20%.
"There are many options, and Iran will calmly and carefully consider what is appropriate to the needs of the country," he said, adding that among the options were increasing the number of centrifuges and re-installing more sophisticated centrifuges.
"Iran does not need 20 percent enriched uranium at the moment, but if we want to produce it, there will be no obstacle."
He explained that «the issue of raising the rate of enrichment to 20% or even more at the meetings of the Supreme National Security Council as options in the next steps, but will work each as needed, not just because the biggest level scare the other party».
He stressed that technically, Iran would continue to gradually reduce its commitments, but at the same time it was ready to return to the previous circumstances if the other parties were to implement their commitments.
In a similar vein, the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted Iranian army chief Major-General Abdul Rahim Mousavi as saying yesterday that Iran is not seeking confrontation with any country.
According to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Akbar Velayati's advisor, Iran needs 5% enriched uranium to meet the needs of its "peaceful" nuclear activities, specifically feeding its only nuclear power plant with fuel.
This level remains much lower than the 90 percent needed to make an atomic bomb.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said all options including withdrawal from the nuclear agreement possible, stressing in a statement that after two months we will implement the third phase of reducing our commitments to the nuclear file.
The ministry warned Europeans of any escalation in their reaction to its decision to enrich uranium to a level prohibited by the agreement on its nuclear program.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said that if some parties to the nuclear deal "take some surprising action, then we will go beyond the next steps, and move directly to the implementation of the last step" of the plan to reduce the commitments announced by Iran in May.
Moussaoui did not specify the nature of this "last step" during a press conference in Tehran in response to a question about his country's position if the Europeans reacted "strongly" to Tehran's recent declarations.
On the other hand, the European Union called on Iran to "stop" all its activities to enrich uranium in violation of its commitments contained in the agreement with major powers on its nuclear file.
"We strongly urge Iran to stop its activities that are contrary to its obligations under the nuclear agreement and to return to it," said spokeswoman for the European Diplomacy, Maya Kosianicic, adding that the EU was "very concerned" about what Iran announced at the end of the week.
"This call for the European Union to stop production of enriched uranium is higher than the 3.67 percent stipulated in the Iranian nuclear agreement," the spokeswoman told a news conference in Brussels.
The EU is "in contact" with other parties signatories to the nuclear deal, Kosyancic said, without giving further details. It noted that the agreement contained arrangements, in particular a dispute settlement mechanism.
The three European countries that signed the agreement (Britain, France and Germany) also condemned Iran's recent action.
In separate statements, London and Berlin urged Tehran to reverse its decision. Paris, for its part, expressed "deep concern" about the Iranian decision and asked Tehran to stop any activity "not in line with the agreement."
US President Donald Trump warned Iran against further uranium enrichment, stressing that Tehran would never have a nuclear weapon, while Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo threatened the Iranian government with further isolation and sanctions.
Trump said in remarks to reporters yesterday, commenting on Iran's decision to reduce its commitments to the nuclear agreement signed in 2015, it is "good for Iran to act with caution, because uranium enrichment is for a purpose is not good. It is better for them to beware. "
For his part, the US Secretary of State said Iran's expansion of its nuclear program would lead to further isolation and sanctions. "Iran's regime, if it possesses nuclear weapons, would pose a greater threat to the world," he said in a tweet on Twitter.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said yesterday that Beijing regretted Iran's decision to increase uranium enrichment beyond the limit allowed under the nuclear deal, and stressed that the solution of the Iranian nuclear issue should be done through diplomatic means.
The spokesman for the ministry, Zheng Shuang, said in a daily press statement that his country calls on all parties concerned to exercise restraint.
Iran's decision to continue challenging the United States to raise uranium enrichment beyond the limit set in the 2015 nuclear deal has deepened fears among Iranians that their country would remain in a state of crisis in the long run.
Since last May, Trump has tightened sanctions to stop Iran's oil exports altogether, depriving it of its main source of income.
Commodity prices have risen sharply in Iran, and the number of job seekers among young Iranians is increasing. In April, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said Iran's economy was expected to contract for a second consecutive year and inflation could reach 40 percent.
Prices of bread, cooking oil and other commodities have increased significantly, and the devaluation of the Iranian riyal has forced more than 60% of some small factories to close because of the scarcity of raw materials and hard currency.
Iranian authorities say 15 percent of the total workforce is unemployed. Salaries are insignificant for many official positions, which means that the actual figure for those without proper employment is much higher.
• 20% or more of the enrichment rate is presented as Iranian options in subsequent steps.