Iran Says It Will No Longer Abide By Any Nuclear Enrichment Restrictions

The government of Iran will no longer abide by any nuclear enrichment restrictions originally set as part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement in 2015, it announced on Sunday.

What Happened

"The Islamic Republic of Iran will end its final limitations in the nuclear deal, meaning the limitation in the number of centrifuges. Therefore Iran's nuclear program will have no limitations in production including enrichment capacity and percentage and number of enriched uranium and research and expansion," the government said in a statement, the New York Times reported.

Iran's Minister for Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter that the country would continue to cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency.

Zarif also said that the decision is reversible if the international sanctions on Iran are lifted.

Why It Matters

With the announcement to no longer abide by restrictions on Uranium enrichment in the production, Iran has effectively struck the final nail in the coffin for the JCPOA agreement.

"It's finished. If there's no limitation on production, then there is no deal," David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, told the Times.

Iran's decision comes in the aftermath of the U.S. airstrikes at the Baghdad Airport on Friday, which killed the head of the country's Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, prompting it to declare "severe revenge" on the U.S.

At the time, it's unclear how much effect the assassination of Soelimani had on Iran's decision.

The country has been slowly walking away from the agreement, ever since President Donald Trump completely withdrew the U.S. obligations in May 2018, and started implementing sanctions on Iran.

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