EU ‘strongly urges’ Iran to stop N-enrichment: China blames US ‘bullying’ for N-crisis

BEIJING: China on Monday said "unilateral bullying" by the United States was the cause behind the escalating Iran nuclear crisis, after Tehran announced it was set to breach its uranium enrichment cap.

"The facts show that unilateral bullying has already become a worsening tumour," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang at a press briefing in Beijing. "The maximum pressure exerted by the US on Iran is the root cause of the Iranian nuclear crisis," he said.

Iran threatened on Sunday to abandon more commitments to an endangered 2015 nuclear deal unless a solution is found with the remaining parties after the US pulled out. The 2015 deal was reached between Iran and six world powers -- Britain, China, France, Germany, the United States and Russia -- and saw Tehran agree to drastically scale down its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

Washington began reimposing sanctions on Iran in August 2018 and has targeted crucial sectors including oil exports and the banking system, fuelling a deep recession.

Tehran’s move to start enriching uranium above the maximum purification level has already drawn opposition from countries backing the nuclear deal, with Germany urging it to "stop and reverse all activities inconsistent with its commitments."

Geng said China has expressed "regret" for Tehran’s decision to reduce its fulfilment of the Iran nuclear deal.Meanwhile, the European Union said on Monday it was "extremely concerned" by Iranian plans to breach the uranium enrichment cap set by the 2015 nuclear deal, calling on Tehran to reverse course.

Iran said on Sunday it would breach the cap "in a few hours" and on Monday announced it had passed 4.5 percent enrichment -- well above the 3.7 percent limit.

It first announced its intention to reduce compliance with the deal in May, a year after US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the pact and reimposed crippling sanctions.

"We strongly urge Iran to stop and reverse all activities that are inconsistent with the commitments made under the JCPOA," EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic told reporters. The JCPOA or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action gave Iran relief from punishing sanctions in return for setting strict limits on its nuclear activities.

The remaining signatories -- Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China -- say the deal is the best way to stop Iran developing atomic weapons. "We are extremely concerned by the announcement made over the weekend by Iran regarding the start of the uranium enrichment above the limit of 3.7 percent," Kocijancic said.

The EU will await a report from the UN’s atomic energy authority and consult other signatories to the deal before deciding on future steps, Kocijancic said. Britain, France and Germany have sought to save the deal by creating special mechanism called INSTEX to sidestep US sanctions so Iran can keep trading. But the mechanism is still not operational six months after its launch and Tehran has grown increasingly frustrated at Europe’s failure to act effectively.

Brussels officials see the latest announcements from Iran as a bid to pressure the West into doing more to help. "The situation is extremely difficult for them domestically -- they are running out of humanitarian supplies," an EU source told AFP.

"They want to preserve the agreement, but they want the benefits they were promised." The steps Iran has taken so far -- increasing enrichment and breaching a limit on uranium reserves -- can be reversed, the source said. However, if Iran went above five percent enrichment, the situation would be more serious, officials warn.