Russian diplomat says Iran not after nuclear weapons

Officials from Tehran attempted used the threat of breaching the terms of the deal in a bid to force European signatories to help circumvent Washington's sanctions.

Tehran, which has sought to pressure the remaining parties to save the deal, announced on May 8 it would no longer respect the limit set on its enriched uranium and heavy water stockpiles.

The Iranian regime took action today to increase its uranium enrichment.

In exchange for curbs on its nuclear program, which Iran claims is strictly for civilian purposes, Tehran received relief from crippling global economic sanctions. But so far those efforts have failed, with Iran largely shunned on oil markets and major foreign companies cancelling plans to invest for fear of falling foul of USA rules. One of its senior lawmakers warned on Monday that Israel would be destroyed within "only half an hour" should the United States attack Iran.

Tehran announced last month that it would start exceeding the cap in protest at reimposed US sanctions and as a way to persuade the Europeans to do much more to ease the impact of the sanctions on the Iranian economy.

That point was noted to reporters Friday in London by Brian Hook, the USA special representative for Iran.

The White House issued a statement saying that it had been a mistake to allow Iran to enrich uranium under the deal in the first place. Further heightening the risk for European businesses is that the ownership of most of Iran's top companies are tied to Iranian government entities, such as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which have been specifically targeted by the USA sanctions regime.

As war clouds loom over the Gulf, the question is: Will the U.S. or its allies risk a pre-emptive strike on Iran and trigger a conflict? "We have NOT violated the #JCPOA", he tweeted, referring to the deal.

Macron reportedly said that he was hoping to convince Trump to renew negotiations with Iran.

The IAEA "verified on July 1 that Iran's total enriched uranium stockpile exceeded 300 kilogrammes", a spokesperson said.

And while President Trump has signaled he'd like to make a deal with the Iranians, Iran has shown no sign it wants to negotiate. The immediate aim appears to be to dissuade Tehran from taking the further step of increasing its level of uranium enrichment.

After waiting months for a concrete European answer to the United States withdrawal from the nuclear deal, and then longer for the Instex trade mechanism to be operational, there is now a risk that this European move could be too little, too late for Tehran.

The British government, which is the most closely aligned with Washington and has sent its own military assets into the region, responded with a threat.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reiterated that his country would not bow to foreign pressure, the state-run IRNA news agency reported on Monday. Last week Iran's UN Ambassador, Majid Takht Ravanchi, reiterated that "a multilateral agreement can not be implemented unilaterally".

"If the USA attacks us, only half an hour will remain of Israel's lifespan", Mr Mojtaba Zolnour, the chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy commission said, according to Mehr. "I tell you: Do so, go do it".

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, reiterated his pledge that Israel would not allow Tehran to develop nuclear weapons. The Islamic Republic's oil exports to the bloc are down to zero. Monday's strikes indicate that Bolton's bid failed.

"Iran is seeking leverage, not dashing for a bomb", Kelsey Davenport, director of nonproliferation policy for the advocacy organization Arms Control Now, wrote on Twitter. In July 2015, Iran's time frame to produce enough fuel for one weapon was believed to be around two months. "If they get up to 20 percent or beyond that, that's enough for a nuclear bomb".

But as a Brookings report suggests, a conflict would begin even if the USA targets Iranian interests beyond its borders - for example, Iraq.