France, Germany, Britain And US Compact To Increase Iran's Uranium Financing

Iran's Bushehr nuclear facility (Wikimedia Commons/Tasnim News Agency/Hossein Heidarpour)

JAKARTA - France, Germany, Britain, and the United States compactly condemn the increase in enriched uranium production to a 60 percent purity level by Iran, near the level used for nuclear weapons fuel, on Thursday.

In a joint statement, the four allies did not mention any consequences Iran may face over the increase in production, but called for its cancellation, saying they remain "committed to diplomatic solutions" over disputes over Tehran's nuclear program.

"The highly enriched uranium production by Iran does not have justifiable civil justification," the statement said.

"This decision represents reckless behavior in a tense regional context," he continued.

Separately, the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in a report on Tuesday that Iran had reversed its months-long slowdown in enriched uranium production rates to 60 percent purity.

"We condemn this action, which adds to the continued escalation of Iran's nuclear program," the joint statement said.

Meanwhile, Iran on Wednesday rejected the IAEA report and called it "not a new thing" and said it was running its program "according to the rules."

It is known, Tehran already has enough uranium with 60 percent purity, if enriched up to 90 percent, to make three nuclear bombs, according to the theoretical definition of the IAEA. However, Tehran denies trying to make nuclear weapons.

Britain, France, and Germany are known to remain parties to the 2015 Nuclear Deal (JCPOA) designed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, Uncle Sam's country is no longer a party to the deal, after former US President Donald Trump took the US out of the agreement in 2018, prompting Iran to gradually violate its limits.