Anxiety as Iran nuclear deadline approaches and Tehran hints at increased uranium enrichment

Iran suggests it could increase production of nuclear material while France tries to make deal

The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, speaks at a session of parliament in Tehran on Tuesday (EPA)

Iran has suggested it could boost its enrichment of uranium to 20 per cent purity, a level that alarms nuclear arms specialists because it is considered a relatively easy jump to weapons-grade material.

“If Iran decides, it can have 20 per cent enriched fuel within one to two days,” the Fars news agency quoted Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, as saying.

The comment came two days before a much-anticipated deadline set by Tehran for the latest escalation of its nuclear programme in response to crippling sanctions imposed by the US following its withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Diplomats were on edge as Iran prepares to announce a possible escalation of its nuclear programme on Thursday, with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, scrambling to come up with a deal to salvage the JCPOA.

The US president, Donald Trump, withdrew from the deal in 2018 and imposed a policy of “maximum pressure” on Iran to convince it to come back to the negotiating table. But in some of his bluntest remarks yet, Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani ruled out any direct talks with the White House.

Mr Trump and Mr Rouhani last week suggested they were open to such talks. But in a speech on Tuesday, Mr Rouhani said any negotiations with the US would only be possible with other world powers and only after the US lifts “all” sanctions on Iran imposed since Mr Trump last year pulled out of the JCPOA, the landmark nuclear signed by his predecessor, Barack Obama.

“The issue of bilateral talks is not on the agenda in principle,” Mr Rouhani told parliament. “We have no plans for bilateral talks with America and have never had.”

It was unclear whether Mr Kamalvandi was suggesting Iran was pondering a move to boost its small stockpile of 20 per cent enriched uranium as a response to the US sanctions, whether he was showing off about Iran’s technical capabilities, or leaving just enough ambiguity to put pressure on European countries seeking to come up with a scheme that would prevent Iran from making any drastic moves.

Tehran has already increased its stockpile of the material and boosted its level of enrichment as a response to US sanctions which have crippled Iran’s ability to sell its oil.

Mr Macron has spent hours this week speaking to Mr Rouhani on the phone, and reports suggest he is offering Iran $15bn in credits in exchange for its full compliance with the JCPOA, which gave Iran economic incentives to place limits on its nuclear programme.

“Today the essence of our talks with the European countries is this that if they purchase our oil for cash or credit, or make advance purchases and let us access the money for it, this will make conditions easier for us to halt the steps for rolling back our commitments for as long as such conditions are in place,” said Mr Rouhani.

Even if Iran escalates its nuclear programme on Thursday, Mr Rouhani said it would it still be open to talks with the remaining JCPOA partners, including the UK, Russia, Germany, France, and China.

But Mr Rouhani insisted that his earlier remarks saying he was open to talks with the US had been misunderstood.

“If America lifts all of its sanctions – I believe it does not matter whether it returns to the JCPOA, what is important is the sanctions – there still is a chance for America to attend meetings ... like in the past,” he said. “But this will only be possible provided that it lifts all sanctions.”

Despite economic hardships caused by Washington’s sanctions, Iran continues to refine its conventional weapons programme and support armed allies across the Middle East, posing a challenge to the US and its allies as well as the UK and France.

Upping its nuclear programme may cause the collapse of the JCPOA, but Tehran may calculate it can count on China and Russia, both veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council, to shield it from punishment.

“We share the view that the situation which has taken shape surrounding the JCPOA is a direct consequence of the destructive steps taken by the American administration which withdrew from the agreement,” Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, said during a meeting with his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif, on Monday.

In a further escalation of tensions, the Iranian oil tanker Adrian Darya 1 at the centre of a dispute between Tehran and western powers appeared to have turned off its transponder in the Mediterranean west of Syria yesterday.

The tanker which is loaded with Iranian crude oil, sent its last signal giving its position between Cyprus and Syria sailing north at 15:53 GMT on Monday, Refinitiv ship-tracking data showed.

The vessel, formerly named Grace 1, was detained by British Royal Marine commandos off Gibraltar on 4 July as it was suspected to be en route to Syria in violation of EU sanctions.

Two weeks later, Iran in retaliation seized a British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz leading into the Gulf.