Iran has marked the anniversary of the 2015 nuclear deal by declaring and end to restrictions on uranium enrichment, but has pledge its commitment to diplomacy.<\/p>\n
On the 10th anniversary of the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement, Iran announced that it is no longer bound by the deal\u2019s restrictions, formally drawing a line under a pact that once symbolised rare cooperation between Tehran and the world\u2019s major powers.<\/p>\n
In a statement released on Saturday \u2013 exactly a decade to the day since the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA<\/a>) was signed in Vienna \u2013 Iran\u2019s foreign ministry said that \u201call of the provisions, including the restrictions on the Iranian nuclear programme and the related mechanisms, are considered terminated.\u201d<\/p>\n Yet even as Tehran celebrated what it called the \u201ctermination day\u201d of the accord, it struck a notably measured tone, insisting it \u201cfirmly expresses its commitment to diplomacy.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran denounces ‘unjustifiable’ return of UN nuclear sanctions<\/a><\/p>\n France\u2019s hand in nuclear diplomacy<\/p>\n The announcement marks the end of a turbulent chapter in Iran\u2019s nuclear history. The original 2015 deal had been hailed as a diplomatic triumph, crafted painstakingly over two years of negotiations between Iran and six world powers: China, Russia, the United States, Britain, Germany \u2013 and crucially, France, whose diplomats played a central role in brokering compromises on uranium enrichment and verification.<\/p>\n Paris, under then\u2013Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, was seen as one of the toughest negotiators in the Vienna talks, insisting on strict limits and oversight to prevent any military dimension to Iran\u2019s nuclear work.<\/p>\n Those efforts helped clinch the final deal that was later endorsed by the UN Security Council through Resolution 2231<\/a>.<\/p>\n But the accord began to unravel in 2018, when US President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the deal and reimposed sweeping sanctions. Iran gradually rolled back its commitments in response, enriching uranium far beyond the 3.67 percent cap agreed under the pact.<\/p>\n According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA<\/a>), Iran is now enriching uranium to 60 percent purity \u2013 just below weapons-grade \u2013 though Tehran continues to insist its nuclear programme is entirely civilian, focused on energy and medical research.<\/p>\n Iran and Europe in last-ditch push to avert UN sanctions showdown<\/a><\/p>\n European stance reignites tensions<\/p>\n The final blow came last month when, at France\u2019s initiative alongside Britain and Germany, the United Nations reimposed broad sanctions on Iran for the first time in a decade. The move effectively rendered the nuclear deal defunct ahead of its scheduled expiration this weekend.<\/p>\n In a letter to the UN, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the European action as \u201cirresponsible\u201d and claimed that, with the JCPOA\u2019s expiry, those sanctions are now \u201cnull and void<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Tehran also accused the three European powers of undermining a recent attempt to restart cooperation with the IAEA \u2013 talks that had reportedly been taking place under a framework agreed in Cairo earlier this year. \u201cIran\u2019s efforts to revive the exchanges… were sabotaged by the irresponsible actions of the three European countries,\u201d the foreign ministry said.<\/p>\n Diplomatic tensions have been further inflamed by the fallout from the July conflict between Iran and Israel, which saw Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities<\/a> and a fierce retaliatory response from Tehran.<\/p>\n In the aftermath, Iran suspended cooperation with the IAEA, saying the agency had failed to condemn attacks on its infrastructure.<\/p>\n