Iran Says It Will Exceed Nuclear Deal's Limit On Uranium 'In 10 Days' - NPR

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Spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Behrouz Kamalvandi, seen at a July 2018 news conference in Tehran. Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Within days Iran will exceed the limit on its stockpile of uranium under a 2015 nuclear deal, according to a spokesman for the country's atomic energy agency, who also said Tehran would increase uranium enrichment levels in violation of the agreement, "based on the country's needs."

The remarks come amid increased tension between the U.S. and Iran, particularly after last week's attack on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman that Washington has blamed on Tehran. Iran has denied any involvement.

Under the multilateral Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that the U.S. withdrew from a year ago, Iran can keep no more than 300 kilograms (661 pounds) of uranium enriched no higher than 3.67% — far below the 90% level considered suitable for building nuclear weapons.

At a news conference at the Arak Nuclear Complex that was carried live Monday on Iranian television, Behrouz Kamalvandi, a spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said that stockpile limit could be exceeded within 10 days.

"We have quadrupled the rate of enrichment and even increased it more recently, so that in 10 days it will bypass the 300 kg limit," Kamalvandi said.

He added that his country needs uranium enriched to 5% for its Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, built in the 1990s with Russian help and uranium of 20% purity to be used as fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor (TRR), which the the U.S. supplied to Iran in 1967.

Although not weapons-grade, 20% purity is generally considered "highly enriched" uranium and as The Associated Press notes, "... going from 20% to 90% is a relatively quicker process, something that worries nuclear nonproliferation experts."

Even so, Kamalvandi held out the possibility that "There is still time ... if European countries act."

"Iran's reserves are every day increasing at a more rapid rate. And if it is important for them (Europe) to safeguard the accord, they should make their best efforts... As soon as they carry out their commitments, things will naturally go back to their original state," he said, according to AP.

That sentiment was echoed by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Monday. "It's a crucial moment, and France can still work with other signatories of the deal and play an historic role to save the deal in this very short time," he was quoted by the Fars News Agency as saying during a meeting with France's new ambassador in Iran.

Reuters reports that Rouhani said the collapse of the nuclear deal would not be in the interests of the region and the world.

Following last week's alleged attack on the tankers Front Altair and Kokuka Courageous near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said "there's no doubt" that Iran was responsible for disabling the vessels.

"The intelligence community has lots of data, lots of evidence," Pompeo said on Fox News Sunday. "The world will come to see much of it, but the American people should rest assured we have high confidence with respect to who conducted these attacks as well as half a dozen other attacks throughout the world."

On CBS' Face the Nation, Pompeo said the U.S. was "considering a full range of options."

"We are confident that we can take a set of actions that can restore deterrence, which is our mission set," he said.

On Monday, Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff again denied the country's involvement in the attacks.

"Regarding the new incidents in the Persian Gulf... if the Islamic Republic of Iran decides to block exports of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, it is militarily strong enough to do that fully and publicly," Major General Mohammad Bagheri said, according to Fars News Agency.

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2019-06-17 11:22:00Z
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Iran says it will break the uranium stockpile limit agreed under nuclear deal in 10 days - CNN

During a news conference at the Arak heavy water reactor facility, Behrouz Kamalvandi said that Iran had increased low enriched uranium production fourfold and would exceed the limit of 300 kilograms by June 27, in the latest blow to the nuclear deal agreed between Tehran and world powers in 2015.

"If Iran feels that the sanctions have been reinstated or not lifted, Iran has the right to partly or on the whole suspend its commitments," Kamalvandi said, referring to sanctions that were lifted as part of the nuclear deal but have since been reinstated by the US. The Trump administration withdrew from the pact in May 2018.

However, he said there was still time for European countries to save the nuclear deal if they "abide by their commitments."

After exceeding the limit, Iran will accelerate uranium enrichment to 3.7%, Kamalvandi said -- above the 3.67% mandated by the nuclear deal. Enrichment at this percentage is enough to continue powering parts of the country's energy needs, but not enough to ever build a nuclear bomb.

Under the nuclear deal, Iran was permitted to stockpile limited amounts of enriched uranium and heavy water produced in that process, exporting any excess. Doing so has become extremely difficult after the US revoked waivers that allowed Iran to export those excess stockpiles, effectively forcing Iran to halt enrichment or ignore the limits, which it is now doing.

Monday's announcement came after President Hassan Rouhani declared in May that Iran was reducing its "commitments to the deal" but not fully withdrawing from it.

Rouhani said at the time that Iran would keep its excess enriched uranium and heavy water, instead of selling it to other countries.

Iran's important message to Europe

Iran has reiterated that it could reverse the new measures should the remaining European signatories in the nuclear deal (France, Germany and the United Kingdom) step in and make more of an effort to circumvent US sanctions.

Tehran has repeatedly criticized Europe's delay in establishing their own trade channel to Iran, and Monday's announcement is yet another sign that the nation is growing increasingly impatient.

"I think til now the Europeans have not done their part and they've wasted a lot of time," Kamalvandi said during the press conference. "They have given us a lot of good words but not deeds."

The development comes after two oil tankers were attacked in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday. The US and Saudi Arabia have blamed Iran for the attack, with Riyadh calling on the international community to take a "firm stand towards an exponential regime that supports terrorism and spreads killing and destruction."

Iran has vehemently denied any involvement in the tanker incident. The country's parliament speaker Ali Larijani accused the US of carrying out "acts of sabotage" against the two tankers in an effort to pressure Tehran, according to Iranian state-funded Press TV.

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2019-06-17 10:57:00Z
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Israel announces new Golan Heights settlement named after Trump - CNN

Netanyahu unveiled a sign at the proposed site of the settlement on Sunday bearing the name "Trump Heights," and thanked the US President for breaking with the international community to recognize Israeli sovereignty over the region.

"We are proud that we have the opportunity to establish a new settlement and to give thanks to a great friend," Netanyahu told a celebratory cabinet meeting at the site. "We will continue to grow and develop the Golan for all of our citizens -- Jews and non-Jews together."

The Golan Heights, which was seized by Israel from Syria during the Six-Day War in 1967 and annexed in 1981, is regarded as illegally occupied territory by the global community. The UN Security Council has deemed Israel's administration of the area "null and void and without legal effect," and the UN special envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, recently reiterated that position.

But Trump recognized Israeli sovereignty in the region in March, two weeks before that country's elections, in what was seen as a major political gift to Netanyahu. The US is the only country in the world to recognize Israeli sovereignty in the occupied territory.

At Sunday's unveiling, the Israeli leader went on to thank Trump for a number of pro-Israel decisions -- while also joining the US in blaming Iran for the attack on tankers in the Gulf of Oman last week.

"President Trump did it [with the Golan], he also did it with Jerusalem, he did it with the transfer of the embassy, he did it with the exit from the Iran nuclear deal, he does it now with the strong stand against the aggression of Iran in the Gulf of Oman, in the Persian Gulf, and in the entire region," he said.

US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, who sat next to Netanyahu during the festive cabinet meeting, praised the decision.

"I want to thank you for holding the cabinet meeting and for the extraordinary gesture that you and the State of Israel are making to the President of the United States," Friedman said. "It's well-deserved, but it's much appreciated."

But opposition lawmakers in Israeli criticized Netanyahu's announcement as a public relations exercise.

"Whoever reads the fine print in this 'historic' decision understands that it is a phantom decision," Zvi Hauser, an advocate of international recognition of Israeli sovereignty in the Golan, said on Twitter. "There is no budget, there is no planning, there is no place, and there is really no binding decision," he added.

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2019-06-17 09:57:00Z
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Iran threatens to increase enriched uranium stockpile beyond limits set by nuclear deal in 10 days - The Washington Post

Rick Noack

Foreign affairs reporter focusing on Europe and international security

June 17 at 6:16 AM

Iran has threatened to increase its uranium stockpile above the limit set by the 2015 nuclear deal in the next 10 days, amid escalating tensions with the United States and so far unsuccessful European efforts to salvage the deal. Iran said it had already sped up its production of the low-enriched uranium used in nuclear power plants.

Iran has denied claims by the Trump administration and others that it is seeking to build a nuclear bomb. But on Monday, Iran also announced enrichment targets that would put it in the proximity of the levels needed to build a weapon. It was unclear how long Iran would need to reach those targets.

The announcement comes days after the United States accused Iran of attacking tankers in a key waterway, the Gulf of Oman. News of the suspected attacks last Thursday came as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe — who had offered to mediate between Tehran and Washington — was wrapping up a visit to Iran that yielded no resolution of the tensions.

The backers of the Iran nuclear deal long argued that the agreement was best-positioned to prevent the scenario threatened on Monday. Despite this, President Trump announced his withdrawal from the Obama-era agreement last year. China, Russia and three European nations — Germany, France and Britain — have stuck to it, arguing that while the deal may not be perfect it is the best-possible solution to prevent Iran from building a nuclear bomb.

Iran initially appeared willing to stick to its commitments, despite the U.S. withdrawal from the deal, but has more recently put pressure on the remaining backers of the agreement.

In early May, Iran gave Europe 60 days to comply with a number of conditions to save the deal without U.S. backing. Tehran threatened it would otherwise resume uranium enrichment above the limits agreed in 2015.

Monday’s comments to reporters by the spokesman for Iran’s nuclear agency, Behrouz Kamalvandi, indicates that efforts to resume the enrichment could begin even sooner than initially threatened.

The move would constitute a blow to E.U. efforts to uphold the 2015 deal. Earlier this year, the E.U. created a payment channel — INSTEX — which was supposed to facilitate trade with Iran. In creating the mechanism, the E.U. risked a spat with the United States, where officials fear such efforts to bypass the U.S. dollar in international trade could weaken U.S. influence to impose sanctions abroad in the long run. But INSTEX has been mired by problems and most European companies have withdrawn from Iran.

After talks with his Iranian counterpart last Monday, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas acknowledged that the U.S. withdrawal from the Iran deal had annulled some of the biggest economic benefits Iran had been granted in 2015. “We won’t achieve a miracle, but we try as best as we can to prevent failure,” Maas told reporters.

Monday’s announcement by Iran’s nuclear agency clarified how long Europe may still have to prevent such a failure: just 10 days.

Read more:

Trump administration steps up efforts to show Iran carried out tanker attacks

Iran frees U.S. resident Nizar Zakka from prison, hands him to Lebanese officials

Standoff with Iran exposes Trump’s credibility issue as some allies seek more proof of tanker attack

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2019-06-17 09:32:38Z
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Iran to break uranium stockpile limit set by nuclear deal, spokesman says - Fox News

Iran is set to break its uranium stockpile limit set by the nuclear deal within 10 days, according to a spokesman for the country’s atomic agency.

The comment was broadcast live during a news conference on Iranian state television on Monday.

FILE: A false-color image showing the Norwegian-owned MT Front Altair, bottom right, ablaze with smoke rising from it in the Gulf of Oman after what the U.S. described as a limpet mine attack by Iran.  (European Commission via AP)

The spokesman, Behrouz Kamalvandi, spoke to journalists at Iran’s Arak heavy water facility. He acknowledged that Iran has already quadrupled its production of low-enriched uranium.

POMPEO BLAMES IRAN FOR TANKER ATTACKS, SAYS US DOES NOT WANT WAR BUT WILL TAKE ACTION IF NEEDED

His comments come less than a week after suspected attacks on two oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for oil shipments in the region. Washington has blamed the attacks on Iran.

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Hostilities between the two countries are at an all-time high after President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the nuclear deal.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-06-17 08:39:35Z
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Trump may raise Hong Kong protests with Xi as city remains a thorn in Beijing's side - CNN

Years of relative calm after the 2014 Occupy protests had given the impression that the semi-autonomous Chinese city had fallen into step with Beijing under leader Carrie Lam.

But in just eight days, mass protests have forced the government into a rare public backdown, emboldened anti-China elements in Taiwan and may even become a part of negotiations around the trade war between the United States and China.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview with Fox News Sunday that he expected President Donald Trump to raise the Hong Kong protests with Xi at the G20 talks in Japan this month.

"I'm sure this will be among the issues that we discuss. We have a wide range of very important issues in the way China and the United States interact," he said.

Publicly, the Chinese government has struck a defiant tone on the protests, supporting the local government and blaming "foreign meddling" and anti-China elements inside the city.

But experts said the Hong Kong demonstrations drew attention to China at a time when Xi could least afford negative scrutiny.

"President Xi still wants to get the US trade talks back on track and he doesn't want to link trade with any other issue at this point," said Bonnie Glaser, director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

Xi's authority 'dented'

A policy concession by a top Chinese official is rare to say the least, and for it to come as a result of public pressure is almost unheard of.

Nonetheless, that's what Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam did on Sunday when she apologized to Hong Kong residents after an estimated 2 million of them, about a quarter of the city's population, took to the streets.

A day earlier, the government had suspended the controversial bill that protesters said would have potentially put political activists and business people at risk of being extradited to mainland China -- and disappeared into the country's opaque criminal justice system.

Chief Executive Lam and her government have insisted the bill was simply a way to close loopholes and ensure Hong Kong does not become a haven for fugitives from the mainland.

Instead, debate around the law appears to have revived Hong Kong's nascent protest movement at the worst possible time for Beijing, amid the US trade war and just months before the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

"It implies that if people are brave enough to show defiance against Beijing, they can get away with it, they can get some results, they can force Beijing and the Chinese Communist Party to back down," said Willy Lam, an adjunct professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and longtime analyst of Chinese politics.

Lam said Xi's authority, already "dented" by the prolonged US trade war, would be further questioned in Beijing in the wake of the Hong Kong protests. "This is one more set back for Xi Jinping," he said.

Hong Kong divides US and China

Hong Kong is an unwanted headache for the Chinese leader less than two weeks before he is due to meet world leaders at the G20 summit in Osaka.

Most importantly, though it has yet to be confirmed, Xi is also expected to meet face-to-face with US President Trump for the first time since trade talks collapsed at the beginning of May.

Both sides blamed the other for the failure and, in response, the Trump administration raised tariffs to 25% on an estimated $200 billion of Chinese goods.

The Chinese government maintains it is not afraid of a trade war, but higher tariffs are an extra burden on an economy that's already showing signs of slowing.

While both sides are trying to find a way forward, the Hong Kong protests have sparked another wave of antagonism and rhetoric between the US and China.

After the initial protests, Secretary of State Pompeo expressed concern about the proposed extradition bill, while the US Congress has threatened new legislation which would downgrade Hong Kong's special status as a trading hub if Beijing doesn't stop infringing on the city's freedoms.

That special status is significant. Hong Kong is allowed economic freedoms that are restricted to the rest of China, which, tied with an unbiased court system left over from the UK colonial period, have led to many large Western businesses basing their lucrative China operations out of the city.

As more US businesses begin to look at investments outside of China, Hong Kong's role as the country's most economically liberal city is more important than ever.

China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday that any attempts to instigate chaos in Hong Kong were bound to fail. "We urge certain people in the US to respect basic facts, discard arrogance and prejudice, stop playing dirty tricks that meddle in Hong Kong affairs," said spokesman Geng Shuang.

China expert Glaser said it wasn't unusual for Beijing to accuse the US of interfering in its domestic politics, a standard pattern which went back decades to the fall of the Soviet Union.

But she added it wasn't out of the question for President Trump to see Hong Kong as a potential point of leverage in trade talks, similar to his handling of Taiwan relations or the export ban on Huawei.

"There's always a risk that he chooses to use Hong Kong as a bargaining chip," she said.

'Over my dead body'

The Hong Kong protests have also come during a heated presidential election campaign in Taiwan, which has increasingly been seen as a referendum on relations with mainland China.

Taiwan and China have been separately governed since the end of a bloody civil war in 1949, and in the past decade Beijing has been attempting to woe the island back through a combination of promises and threats.

President Tsai Ing-wen's Democratic Progressive Party has historically been seen as pro-independence, while the opposition Kuomintang have encouraged closer relations with the mainland.

But in a sign that the Hong Kong protests are spreading, a leading opposition Kuomintang presidential candidate came out hard on Saturday against closer ties with the mainland.

"'One Country, Two Systems' can never be implemented in Taiwan. Taiwanese people can never accept it, unless it's over my dead body," presidential candidate Han Kuo-yu told a rally, referring to the special system of government used in Hong Kong.

In response, the crowd chanted "Reject 'One Country, Two Systems,"' according to Taiwan news agency CNA.

President Tsai herself has made regular statements in support of the Hong Kong protesters, clearly trying to burnish her anti-Beijing credentials ahead of the January vote.

"In their pursuit of democracy and freedom, the people of Hong Kong (are) not alone. Because we know that if you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything," the Taiwan leader said on her official Twitter feed on June 13.

China expert Lam said if the rebellious Hong Kong spirit spread to Taiwan, or even further, it would be dire news of Beijing.

"Xi has been trying to intimidate the people of Taiwan by naked demonstrations of force, but now the Taiwan people can point to Hong Kong to say that if the Taiwan people are united against China, they can get away with it," said Lam. "They can even force Beijing to make a compromise."

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2019-06-17 07:12:00Z
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Joshua Wong released from prison day after hundreds of thousands march in Hong Kong - CNN

Joshua Wong walked free Monday after serving one month of a two month sentence related to protests in 2014.

"It's really good timing to join the fight for freedom and democracy," he told CNN after his release. "Five years ago after the end of the Umbrella Movement, we claimed we would be back. Yesterday 2 million people came to the streets ... it shows Hong Kong people realize this is a long term battle."

Wong echoed protesters' calls for the city's Beijing-backed leader to resign.

"Why did Carrie Lam need to wait to suspend the bill until 1 million people came to the streets, it's because she's not elected by the people of Hong Kong," he said. "It's time for her to step down."

Wong added that he thought Beijing too must be looking at the chaos in Hong Kong -- amid the US-China trade war and other headaches for President Xi Jinping -- and wondering about Lam's future.

"Hong Kong is just a small international city with seven million citizens, but two million people came to the streets, it shows that we have the consensus," he said. "She has to end her political career."

Wong predicted that if the bill is not fully withdrawn and key officials resign, then protests could continue, particularly on July 1, the anniversary of the city's handover from British to Chinese rule and a key annual date for pro-democracy marches.

One of Wong's first actions Monday was to pay his respects at a memorial in Admiralty, near the main site of the protests, where a man fell to his death Saturday after climbing a shopping mall and displaying signs calling for the withdrawal of the extradition bill.

Wong's political party, Demosisto, has been among several youth groups -- all of which have their roots in the 2014 Umbrella Movement -- playing a big role in the protests against the extradition bill, which have been ongoing for weeks.

In a statement Saturday after Lam said she was suspending passage of the controversial bill. Demosisto said Hong Kongers should "demand that the bill be shelved for good, stand against political prosecution of protesters, condemn police brutality, and call for Lam's resignation."

"That Lam continues to blame the bill's widespread opposition as a result of Hong Kongers' misunderstanding of it is also condescending," Demosisto said Saturday. "Our movement may have won a battle, but the war is not yet over. We urge the international community not to turn away."

Wong appeared cognizant of that community in his statements Monday, speaking in Cantonese, English and Mandarin. He also thanked supporters in Taiwan, where the Hong Kong protests have become a major issue in the island's presidential election, creating yet another headache for Beijing.

Born in 1996, eight months before control of Hong Kong was handed over from the UK to China, Wong has spent most of his adolescence and all of his early adulthood fighting for the city's rights against what he and others say is increasing encroachment by Beijing.

A student leader during 2014's Occupy protests -- which called for universal suffrage in Hong Kong -- Wong became something of an international figurehead for the movement, and even appeared on the cover of Time magazine. His role in the protests later became the subject of the 2017 Netflix documentary, "Teenager vs. Superpower."

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2019-06-17 06:54:00Z
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