Today, Saturday, France, Britain and Germany warned Iran of starting work on producing fuel based on uranium for a research reactor, and said that this contradicts the 2015 nuclear agreement, stressing that it has no civilian aspects and contains dangerous military aspects.

The three European countries - which are signatories to the nuclear agreement along with Russia, China and America - said in a joint statement: “We strongly urge Iran to end this activity and return to full compliance with its obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the nuclear agreement) without delay, if it is serious about preserving To agree. "

The tripartite statement indicated that the nuclear agreement obliges Iran not to produce uranium metal, or to conduct research and development on it for 15 years.

Al-Jazeera correspondent in Berlin, Issa Al-Tibi, said that the tripartite statement was expected given what the report of the International Atomic Energy Organization said last Wednesday, that Iran had begun work to produce fuel from metallic uranium for the Tehran Research Reactor.

The essence of a nuclear weapon

The reporter added that the tripartite statement reflects what the IAEA’s statement warned about, that Iran has done what the agency called the manufacture of the essence of nuclear weapons, in the Isfahan region, and the international organization said that turning a blind eye to what Tehran has done regarding uranium is moving its nuclear program from the civilian side to Military.

In January 2020, Tehran announced the suspension of all its commitments contained in the nuclear agreement, in response to Washington's assassination of the commander of the Quds Force, Major General Qassem Soleimani, in an air bombardment near Baghdad International Airport.

Al-Jazeera correspondent in Tehran, Abdul Qadir Fayez, said that this Iranian approach in the nuclear file is related to the original clause in the nuclear file, and concerns advanced nuclear research and uranium metal research on which arduous negotiations took place between Iran and America, before the nuclear agreement concluded in 2015.

The Iranian authorities stress that the other side torpedoed the nuclear agreement, by tightening America's sanctions on various official and unofficial sectors in Iran.

The fourth Iranian step

The Al-Jazeera correspondent stated that Iran says that the fourth step of its policy to reduce compliance with the nuclear agreement is related to nuclear research.

Iran insists that it is no longer committed to what was stated in the agreement, in response to Washington's withdrawal from it and its tightening of sanctions against Tehran, and also in response to the failure of European signatories to the agreement to implement their obligations thereunder, in reference to the lifting of sanctions.

However, Iran says that it has submitted all documents to the International Atomic Energy Agency that prove that all research and operations related to the uranium metal are for civilian, not military, uses.

In his speech today, Ayatollah Khamenei reaffirmed his vision of Iran's foreign policy: Iran is not interested in returning to the nuclear agreement without removing the sanctions - Iran will not stop supporting and strengthening its allies abroad - lack of confidence is what governs the relationship with the West (preventing the import of Corona vaccine).

Fatima Alsmadi • Fatima Alsmadi (@AlsmadiFatima) January 8, 2021

This Iranian step increases pressure on US President-elect Joe Biden, who takes office next Wednesday, and had pledged to return the United States to the nuclear agreement if Iran resumed its full commitment to its provisions first.

In return, Iran wants Washington to lift sanctions first.

In the past few weeks, the Trump administration approved a series of successive sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile program, before the end of President Trump's term on the 20th of this month.

The latest package of sanctions was what US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced, on Friday, as Washington imposed sanctions on entities in the Iranian maritime, air and aviation industries, for their participation in manufacturing lethal military equipment for the Iranian army and Revolutionary Guards.