Iran is now enriching more uranium that it was before agreeing to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday.
In a televised speech, the Iranian leader said, “We are enriching more uranium before the deal was reached. ... Pressure has increased on Iran but we continue to progress,” according to Reuters.
Earlier this week, Britain, France and Germany—concerned by Iran’s gradual backing out of its commitments under the deal—triggered the JCPOA’s dispute resolution mechanism, a move that could potentially lead to the re-imposition of U.N. sanctions. The three nations stressed however that there remained committed to the deal.
On Thursday, top E.U. diplomat Josep Borrell met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in New Delhi, Reuters reported.
“In a frank dialogue, they discussed the latest developments around the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” the European Union said in a statement.
Rouhani warned on Wednesday that European soldiers in the Middle East “could be in danger” following the three nations’ triggering of the dispute mechanism.
“Today, the American soldier is in danger, tomorrow the European soldier could be in danger,” said Rouhani, according to the AP.
Separately, Canada’s transport minister on Wednesday demanded an official update from Iran on the status of the investigation into the shooting down by the Iranian military of a Ukrainian civilian airliner last week, the AP reported. All 176 people aboard Ukraine International Flight PS 752 were killed in the incident, including 63 Canadians.
