Amid US and European condemnation, Iran begins enriching uranium

The Iranian Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has announced the start of its uranium enrichment process at the Fardo underground nuclear facility.

"After all the successful preparations, uranium gas began to be pumped into 1,044 centrifuges on Thursday in Fordow, the whole process is being conducted under the supervision of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," the Atomic Energy Organization said.

IAEA spokesman Behrouz Kamalundi said the process would take several hours to stabilize, and by Saturday when IAEA inspectors would visit the site again, uranium enrichment to 4.5 percent would have been completed.

In turn, the Iranian president said in a tweet on Twitter that his country has begun the implementation of the fourth step to reduce its obligations in the nuclear deal by pumping uranium gas to 1044 centrifuges at the facility Firdo.

Rouhani added that the move was the result of the policies of the United States and its allies towards Iran, and that the Verdou nuclear facility will return to full activity soon.

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In contrast, the State Department said in a statement that Iran's continued expansion of uranium enrichment is not surprising, describing Iran's move as a "big step in the wrong direction."

Iran has repeatedly threatened to do so in the context of its explicit attempts at what it called nuclear blackmail, she said, adding that Tehran had no credible reason to expand its uranium enrichment program and promised to continue its economic pressure policy until Iran changed its behavior.

For its part, the French Foreign Ministry said that the Iranian step violated the terms of the agreement, and called on Tehran to reverse its decision, noting that Paris remains committed to the nuclear deal.

Britain also said that Iran's intention to renege on its obligations under the terms of the nuclear deal is clearly contrary to the spirit of the agreement, and demanded that it renounce it.

Germany stressed that Iran's start pumping uranium gas into centrifuges is unacceptable, and German Foreign Minister Heiko Mas said that this step does not comply with Iran's obligations under the nuclear agreement, calling on Tehran to reverse all previous steps in this regard, and return to full compliance with all its obligations In the agreement.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: "We are very concerned, and this concern has not emerged today or yesterday, but since May when the United States announced its withdrawal from this agreement, we note the desire of European leaders to find a way out of this situation, but every Nothing has so far been coupled with the unwillingness of the United States to abandon any attempts to get out of this crisis. "

The administration of US President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal signed in 2015, and then reimposed and tightened sanctions on Tehran, reducing its vital sales of crude oil by more than 80%.