Three countries condemn Iran's continued development of nuclear program, three others call for resumption of negotiations

France, Germany and Britain on June 15 condemned Iran's latest steps to further develop its nuclear program.

Under President Donald Trump, the US unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA agreement in 2018, and Iran has gradually broken its commitments under this agreement. (Source: Newsweek)

The three countries' statement said: "Iran has taken further steps in withdrawing from the nuclear deal (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action-JCPOA), by operating dozens of additional advanced centrifuges at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility as well as announcing the installation of thousands of additional centrifuges at both Fordow and Natanz facilities.

This decision by Tehran is seen as an escalation of Iran's nuclear program, creating great risks of nuclear proliferation."

France, Germany and the UK have previously pushed for an investigation into Iran's nuclear program. On June 5, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed a resolution criticizing Iran's lack of cooperation with the agency. The resolution, also drafted by the UK, France and Germany, was passed with 20 votes in favor, 12 abstentions, 2 votes against and 1 country abstaining.

This is the first move since November 2022, in the context of Western countries' concerns that Tehran may be seeking to develop nuclear weapons, but Tehran firmly denies it.

In debates at the IAEA Board of Governors that began on June 3, European powers said Iran had expanded its nuclear program “to an alarming level,” unprecedented for a country without a nuclear weapons program.

According to the IAEA, Iran is the only non-nuclear weapons state that enriches uranium to as high as 60% while it continues to accumulate large uranium stockpiles.

After the US under President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA agreement in 2018, Iran also gradually broke its commitments under this agreement.

In a joint statement cited by Iran's IRNA news agency on June 5, Tehran, Moscow and Beijing called on Western countries to show goodwill and take necessary steps to continue implementing the JCPOA.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/ba-nuoc-len-an-iran-tiep-tuc-phat-trien-chuong-trinh-nhat-nhan-3-nuoc-khac-keu-goi-noi-lai-dam-phan-275149.html