NUCLEAR OPTION

Iran Threatens to Break Nuclear Deal’s Uranium Stockpile Limit

In an escalation, Iran says it will cross the line imposed by the 2015 nuclear deal.

Tensions with Iran just keep on escalating. In the latest major development, Iran on Monday morning threatened to break the uranium stockpile limit it agreed to in its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization announced Monday that its low-enriched uranium stockpile would surpass a limit set in the agreement over the next 10 days. Low-enriched uranium can be used in a nuclear reactor—but not in an atomic bomb. It’s the latest tactic from Iran to force European countries to follow through on plans to give the country access to international financial systems, which would allow it to work around U.S. sanctions. “As long as they comply by their commitments, these [limits] will go back,” said organization spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi. It’s the first time Iran’s government had said explicitly that it would break the pact.