Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Abbas Araghchi, attends a nuclear deal review meeting in Tehran.
Raheb Homavandi | Reuters
WASHINGTON – Iran will begin enriching uranium by 60%, a major step towards weapons materials, in response to an attack on a major nuclear site, the country’s chief nuclear negotiator told state media on Tuesday.
Iran’s deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said he has notified the International Atomic Energy Agency, which oversees the monitoring and inspection of nuclear sites, of Tehran’s decision. It takes an estimated 90% enriched uranium to develop a bomb.
The move comes two days after Tehran said its underground nuclear facility in Natanz had a blackout. The Natanz facility has previously been the target of cyber attacks.
Iranian Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, described the event on Sunday as an act of “nuclear terrorism”. A day later, Iran formally accused Israel of being behind the attack and vowed revenge.
Read more: Iran calls blackout of Natanz nuclear site ‘nuclear terrorism’, Israeli media points to cyber attack
The power outage in Natanz coincided with the arrival of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Israel for meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Secretary Benny Gantz.
The Israeli government has not publicly commented on the incident. The White House said on Monday that the United States was not involved in the attack.
A view of the uranium enrichment plant in Natanz, 250 km south of the Iranian capital, Tehran.
Raheb Homavandi | Reuters
Iran’s decision to increase its uranium enrichment comes as the Biden administration works to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, nuclear deal.
The JCPOA, brokered by the Obama administration, lifted sanctions against Iran for paralyzing its economy and halved its oil exports by about half. In exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions, Iran agreed to dismantle part of its nuclear program and open its facilities to more extensive international inspections.
In addition to the United States, France, Germany, the UK, Russia and China were also signatories to the agreement.
In 2018, then-President Donald Trump made a campaign promise, unilaterally pulling the United States out of the JCPOA, calling it the “ worst deal ever. ” Trump also reintroduced sanctions against Tehran that had previously been lifted.
After Washington abandoned the groundbreaking nuclear deal, other signatories to the pact have struggled to keep the deal alive.