European Troika: Iran is Making the JCPOA 'Hollow' with Recent Nuclear Actions

The three European countries that are members of the JCPOA condemned the recent actions of the Islamic Republic to develop its nuclear capabilities. On Saturday, June 16, Britain, France, and Germany issued a joint statement declaring that Iran is 'hollowing out' the JCPOA with its recent actions. The statement, a copy of which was published on the UK Foreign Office website, adds that Iran has taken further steps to hollow out the JCPOA by operating dozens of additional advanced centrifuges at the Natanz enrichment site and announcing readiness to install thousands of other centrifuges at the Fordow and Natanz sites. The agency confirmed the rapid installation of new centrifuges at the Fordow facility. Reuters reported on Thursday, June 14, citing a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency, that Iran has quickly installed additional centrifuges in response to a recent Board of Governors resolution at the Fordow facility. Earlier, the same news agency reported that Tehran had expanded its uranium enrichment capacity at its two underground sites in response to this resolution. The agency's report, which Reuters has seen, states: 'On June 9 and 10, Iran informed the agency that eight cascades containing 174 IR-6 centrifuges will be installed in Unit 1 of the Fordow enrichment facility within three to four weeks.' The three European countries in their joint statement said these steps will further increase Iran's enriched uranium reserves and enrichment capacity, which currently significantly exceeds the JCPOA limits. Iran is the only non-nuclear weapon state in the world that enriches uranium to 60 percent. The US and European JCPOA members say this action by the Islamic Republic has no civilian justification. The International Atomic Energy Agency estimates that if Iran raises its 60 percent enriched uranium stockpile to 90 percent purity, it would be capable of producing 2 to 3 nuclear bombs. The three European countries further stated in their statement that accelerating the production of 60 percent enriched uranium poses significant proliferation risks, and Iran's recent actions are concerning. Iran claims it is not seeking to build a nuclear weapon. On June 6, the Board of Governors passed a resolution demanding that the Islamic Republic of Iran 'immediately' respond to inspectors' questions about the origin of uranium particles found at its undeclared sites. Iran has previously reacted to Board of Governors resolutions, and following the passage of a previous resolution in 2022, it raised its uranium enrichment level to 60 percent, which is close to the level needed for nuclear weapon production.