EU urges Iran to halt uranium enrichment breach

The European Union (EU) on Sunday urged Iran to stick to its nuclear commitments after Tehran announced that it will begin enriching uranium beyond the limit set in its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers "in a few hours".

Germany, the United Kingdom and the EU urged Iran to halt enriching uranium to higher levels than allowed under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), while France said new sanctions were not on the table, despite a call from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to swiftly reimpose the measures, The Times of Israel reported.

"While the UK remains fully committed to the deal, Iran must immediately stop and reverse all activities inconsistent with its obligations," the British Foreign Office said in a statement, adding that it was coordinating a response with other nations.

Germany said it was "extremely concerned" about Iran's announcement, but was waiting for further information from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

The German Foreign Office called for Iran "to stop and reverse all activities inconsistent with its commitments" and said it was in contact with remaining parties to the deal regarding the next steps to try keep Iran within its terms.

The IAEA said it was aware of Iran's threats, but was waiting for its inspectors in Iran to report to its Vienna headquarters "as soon as they verify the announced development."

The move was a part of an Iranian effort to press Europe to salvage the accord after the United States pulled out last year and reimposed punishing sanctions on Tehran, including on its oil and banking sectors, Al Jazeera reported.

Officials were quoted as saying that the country was ramping up the level of uranium enrichment beyond the 3.67 per cent permitted under the deal. Earlier this month, Iran increased its stockpile of low-enriched uranium beyond the cap set by the deal.

The EU said it was discussing a possible emergency meeting over how to respond to Iran's moves, including a possible joint commission.

On Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron said he was trying to find a way by July 15 to resume dialogue between Iran and Western partners. His office, in a statement, stated that the president spoke for more than an hour with his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani amid a standoff between Tehran and the United States.