Tehran is taking another step further away from the enriched uranium threshold allowed by the Vienna Agreement. Iran has announced that it has been producing more than 4.5 percent enriched uranium since Monday, July 8, according to spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (OIEA), Behrouz Kamalvandi, quoted by the agency. semi-official Isna.
The day before, the country had started enriching its fuel to a degree higher than the 3.67% limit imposed by the Iranian nuclear agreement of 2015. Information that is still being verified, Monday, by IAEA.
Saying he is very "concerned" by the latest Iranian announcements, the European Union has on its side urged "strongly Iran to cease (...) its activities which are contrary to the commitments made in the framework of" the agreement of Vienna, and to "return" under this pact.
In separate statements, London and Berlin on Sunday called Tehran to reverse its decision, with Paris expressing "great concern" and calling on Iran to cease all "non-compliant" activity.
Iran wants to show "to Europeans that their passivity has a cost"
According to Ali Akbar Velayati, adviser to the Iranian Supreme Leader, the country's needs for its "peaceful [nuclear] activities", namely the fuel supply of its only atomic power plant, correspond to 5% enriched uranium. . A speech that is reassuring, but the Iranian authorities do not forget to show that the military option is not excluded, giving the tempo of this race against time.
"For now, we do not need 20% [uranium enrichment rate] but if we wanted, we would," said Behrouz Kamalvandi. Knowing that for the manufacture of an atomic bomb requires 90% enriched uranium, but that beyond 20% enrichment of uranium becomes much faster.
"Iran has changed its strategy, after waiting for the response of Europeans for a year [following the US withdrawal of the Vienna agreement in May 2018 and the imposition of US sanctions], Tehran wants to signify to the Americans that their policy has a cost, and to the Europeans that their passivity has a cost ", analyzes on France 24 Thierry Coville, researcher with the Iris and specialist of Iran.
In response to the US withdrawal, Teheran had, since 8 May, warned the signatory states remaining in the Vienna Agreement (Germany, China, France, Great Britain and Russia) that it was beginning to free itself from certain commitments made. . The idea was to get them to help him get around the American sanctions that plunge him into a serious economic crisis, but it did not work.
Diplomatic retreats behind the scenes
On Sunday, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, therefore resorted to the last resort to the Europeans, to whom he put the responsibility for the survival of the Vienna agreement. He said that they alone have the means to ensure that Iran rescinds its measures, if they act "in accordance" with the text.
On Monday, Foreign Affairs Spokesman Abbas Mousavi also accused Paris, London and Berlin. If these three capitals "should behave in a strange and unexpected way then we would skip all the next steps [of the commitment reduction plan announced in May] and we would implement the last one", he said, without specifying the nature of this ultimate "stage".
Behind the scenes, however, diplomatic exchanges are accelerating. The diplomatic adviser to French President Emmanuel Bonne, who visited Iran in June, is expected again in Tehran "in the coming days" according to Abbas Mousavi.
If necessary, the dispute resolution committee of the Vienna Agreement could meet after a report has been drafted by the AEIA and a joint commission meeting.
With AFP