Iran Rolls Back Nuclear Deal and Threatens the United States with Military Strike

The Iranian government has announced that it would no longer follow the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six international mediators. Tehran says it is ready to return to fulfillment of obligations when sanctions are left, and also directly associates its decision with the death of a high-ranking commander Qassem Soleimani last Friday. “Iran will not respect any limits established in the 2015 nuclear deal on the number of uranium enrichment centrifuges. Therefore, Iran would have no limit on its enrichment capacity, the level to which uranium could be enriched, or Iran’s nuclear research and development”, the government statement says. The Iranian authorities added that Iran’s full cooperation with IAEA would continue and would return to fulfilling their nuclear deal obligations if sanctions on the country were lifted and the country’s interests were accommodated. In addition, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi stated that Tehran must also ensure that the U.S. is responsible for the assassination of commander Qassem Soleimani. Over the weekend, Tehran and Washington exchanged threats over the assassination of Soleimani. On Sunday, military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and former defense minister Hossein Dehghan said in an interview with CNN that Iran was preparing to strike at U.S. military sites. “It was America that has started the war. Therefore, they should accept appropriate reactions to their actions”, Dehghan said. Hossein Dehghan added that the “response for sure will be military and against military sites.” He also stressed that “Iran is not seeking a war but is ready for any situation”. Shortly before that, U.S. President Donald Trump warned that if Tehran strikes any U.S. person, Washington will “quickly and fully strike back” at Iranian targets. According to Trump any such responses would be met with targeted strikes against 52 undisclosed Iranian sites.   What kind of Deal? The so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed by six countries (USA, Russia, China, Great Britain, France and Germany) with the goal of limiting the Iranian nuclear program. Tehran agreed to allow international inspectors to its nuclear facilities and limit its nuclear program in exchange for lifting severe economic sanctions imposed on Iran. In 2018 U.S. President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal from the deal and the restoration of sanctions against Iran. After that Tehran began to phase out its obligations under the JCPOA. The current stage, which concerns the number of centrifuges, is the fifth and last one in this process. Tehran called it a key limitation in the nuclear deal and said it would no longer follow any of them.