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“But at the same time when they uphold their commitments, we will cut off the gas again...So it is possible to reverse this step,” the Iranian president said.
Iran will start injecting uranium gas into centrifuges at its underground Fordow enrichment facility, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday, a symbolic breach to Tehran's nuclear deal, which Iran hopes Europeans could manage to save despite the U.S. withdrawal.
Under the 2015 agreement between Iran and world powers, Iran agreed to turn Fordow into a "nuclear, physics and technology center" where 1,044 centrifuges are used for purposes other than enrichment, such as producing stable isotopes, which have a variety of civil uses.
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"Starting from Wednesday, gas will be injected into centrifuges at Fordow as part of our fourth step to reduce our nuclear commitments to the deal," Rouhani said in a televised speech.
He, however, reaffirmed that all actions Iran has so far taken to reduce its commitments under the nuclear deal remain reversible.
“We know their sensitivity with regard to Fordow… [and] these centrifuges,” Rouhani said, referring to the Western states that are part of the nuclear deal with Tehran. “But at the same time when they uphold their commitments, we will cut off the gas again...So it is possible to reverse this step.”
Iran has gradually scaled back its commitments to the deal, under which it curbed its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of most international sanctions after the United States reneged on the agreement and reimposed sanctions.
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said Iran had informed the agency over "the start of injecting UF6 (uranium hexafluoride) into centrifuges at Fordow on Wednesday".
The deal bans nuclear material from Fordow and by injecting UF6 into centrifuges, the facility will become an active nuclear site rather than a research plant as permitted under the pact.
"The IAEA was requested to send its inspectors to monitor the process," Gharibabadi said, quoted by state television. The IAEA monitors Tehran's compliance with the deal.
Rouhani gave another two-month deadline to Britain, France and Germany to salvage the deal by protecting Iran's economy from crippling U.S. sanctions reimposed in May after Washington's withdrawal from the deal.
"We can't unilaterally accept that we completely fulfill our commitments and they don't follow up on their commitments," Rouhani said.
Tehran says talks are possible if Washington lifts sanctions and returns to the deal. "We should be able to sell our oil and to transfer its money into the country," Rouhani said, referring to U.S. sanctions on Iran's oil and banking sectors.
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