Iran's uranium breach 'pressure tactic': Analysts

By Syed Zafar Mehdi

TEHRAN (AA) – Iran's decision to enrich uranium beyond the key limit dictated in the 2015 nuclear deal is a "pressure tactic" to force the signatories to the pact to fulfill their commitments, analysts believe.

Tehran said Monday it started enriching uranium beyond the 3.67% as part of scaling down its commitments under the nuclear deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Iran says the move comes in response to U.S. sanctions, accusing Europeans of failing to protect its economy.

"What options did Iran possibly have after the U.S. President Donald Trump walked out of the deal and imposed crippling economic sanctions against Iran," Mohammad Reza Afshari, a Tehran-based political analyst and academic, told Anadolu Agency.

"On the other hand, the EU/E3 failed to take any action to save the deal in one year," he said. "They actually asked for it, so they shouldn't be surprised."

Last week, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif blamed the Europeans for failing to meet their obligations under the accord.

"Having failed to implement their obligations under JCPOA -- including after U.S. withdrawal -- the EU/E3 should at minimum politically support Iran’s remedial measures under para 36, including at IAEA,” he said.

He said the E3 countries (France, Germany, and Britain) have no pretexts of avoiding a firm political stance to "preserve JCPOA and counter U.S unilateralism".

In October 2017, Trump announced the U.S. would no longer be a signatory to the deal, and withdrew from the agreement in May of last year. Shortly afterward, Washington imposed sanctions on Iran.

Damage control

Negar Mortazavi, an Iranian-American journalist and commentator, said Iran waited for a year for the Europeans to do trade and make up the economic loss, but they failed to deliver.

"Europeans keep saying they want to save the deal, but only in words and political statements," Mortazavi told Anadolu Agency.

"In reality, European companies stopped legal trade with Iran because of the pressure of U.S. sanctions."

In May, Tehran set a 60-day deadline for Europeans, which ended Sunday, to take measures to save the deal. The next review will be carried out in September.

"So far, it seems to be working because Europe is now feeling a sense of urgency and trying to resolve this situation and keep Iran in the deal," said Mortazavi.

"It may even work with Trump and we may see him compromise soon and try to meet Iran somewhere in the middle, to negotiate a new deal," he opined.

Mohammad Mahdi, a Middle East affairs researcher, voiced a similar view.

"Not everything is lost yet, the damage can still be undone if all the remaining parties (to the deal) huddle together and find a way out,” he said.

"But, other parties have no moral authority to accuse Iran of breaching the deal."

Electricity production

Analysts believe that Iranian plans to raise the level of uranium enrichment to 20% in the next phase should not be a matter of concern to the West.

"The uranium stockpile is nowhere near the 85-90% mark required for weaponization. Iran has never even been accused of enriching to that level," Ali Ahmadi, a strategic affairs analyst based in Tehran, told Anadolu Agency.

Under the deal, Iran agreed to destroy its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium and cut its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98%.

Ibn ul Hassan, a researcher at Tehran University, said Iran was not seeking to produce a nuclear bomb, but for electricity production.

"Iran is not looking to make bombs," he said. "There is even a fatwa (religious edict) against nuclear bombs. But it should be allowed to enrich uranium for energy purpose."

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo warned that Iran "can never be allowed to enrich uranium at any level", accusing Tehran of using its "nuclear program to extort the international community and threaten regional security".

Zarif, for his part, denied U.S. accusations of violating the nuclear deal, tweeting screenshots of the JCPOA, including paragraph 36 which explains how signatories of the deal can resolve issues.

According to the deal, Iran is well within its right to complain to the Joint Commission or Foreign Affairs ministers in case EU signatories don't meet their commitments under the deal, after which 15 days will be given to resolve the issue.

If still no resolution is identified, Iran can take the issue to an Advisory Board, which has additional 15 days to resolve the matter.

"If the issue still has not been resolved to the satisfaction of the complaining participant, […], then that participant could treat the unresolved issue as grounds to cease performing its commitments under this JCPOA in whole or in part," the treaty text notes.

Experts say Iran has so far played by the book and it is time for the Europeans to reciprocate.

"Our senior officials, including Foreign Minister Zarif, have clearly stated that the measures taken recently are reversible if Europeans move to honor their commitments under the deal,” an Iranian Foreign Ministry official told Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity.

"Iran has been playing fair despite the unfair game played by other parties," he said.

"Finally, we realized that it can't be a one-way street. Sometimes pressure works more effectively than diplomacy."