Rouhani: Iran to resume uranium enrichment at Fordow plant
Iran will resume uranium enrichment at its Fordow
plant starting Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday,
adding that Tehran will start injecting uranium gas into 1,044 centrifuges in
the latest step away from the 2015 nuclear deal.
President Hassan Rouhani made the statement in an
address carried live by Iranian state TV on Tuesday.
Under Iran's 2015 nuclear deal, these machines are
supposed to spin without gas injection.
Rouhani added that all of the steps Iran has taken
to reduce its commitments to the nuclear deal are reversible and Iran will
uphold all of its commitments under the deal when the remaining signatories do
the same.
There was no immediate comment from the
International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog.
Iran on Monday doubled the number of advanced IR-6
centrifuges now in operation in another violation of the nuclear deal.
Following Rouhani's statements, Russia expressed its
concern over Iran's decision to continue enriching uranium.
"We are monitoring the development of the
situation with concern," President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry
Peskov told reporters.
"We support the preservation of this
deal."
