Iran has said it will exceed the uranium stockpile limit set by the 2015 nuclear deal in 10 days, making it possible for the country to enrich as much as 20% and bringing it closer to having weapons-grade material.
Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, speaking to reporters at the Arak heavy water nuclear reactor, said Monday the increase in enrichment would be “based on the country’s needs.”
According to Kamalvandi, the country needs 5% enrichment for its power plant in Bushehr, which exceeds the 3.67% allowed but the deal, and 20% enrichment for research at a reactor in Tehran.
The move is seen as a retaliation to the Trump administration’s crackdowns on Iran, and could, in fact, be used by the U.S. president and the hardliners in his inner circle — including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton — as reason to justify military action against Iran.
