China Blames US 'Bullying' for Iran Nuclear Announcement
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – China on Monday said “unilateral bullying” by the United States was the cause behind Tehran’s decision to increase the level of its uranium enrichment.
“The facts show that unilateral bullying has already become a worsening tumor,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a press briefing in Beijing, AFP reported.
“The maximum pressure exerted by the US on Iran is the root cause of the Iranian nuclear crisis,” he said.
Iran on Sunday declared the second step to reduce its commitments by ramping up the level of uranium enrichment to over 3.67 percent.
President Hassan Rouhani had warned on Wednesday that the second step of reduction in Iran’s commitments would take place on Sunday, saying, “On July 7, the level of (uranium) enrichment in Iran will not be 3.67 percent anymore, as we will abandon such a commitment and increase it (enrichment) to any amount that we need.”
Iran maintains that the new measures are not designed to harm the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), but to save the accord by creating a balance in the commitments.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, US, Britain, France, and Germany) on July 14, 2015, reached a conclusion over the text of the nuclear deal.
The accord took effect in January 2016 and was supposed to terminate all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran all at once, but its implementation was hampered by the US policies and its eventual withdrawal from the deal.
On May 8, 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the nuclear accord.
Following the US withdrawal, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the deal.
However, the EU’s failure to ensure Iran’s economic interests forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments, including an unlimited rise in the stockpile of enriched uranium.
Last week, Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium exceeded 300 kg.
