US: Iran Must Reduce Its Enriched Uranium Stockpile by the End of June

The US State Department announced that it expects Iran to reduce its enriched uranium stockpile by the deadline of June 30, according to an agreement that has been reached. According to Reuters, Marie Harf, the spokesperson for the US State Department, said on Wednesday, June 3: "We expect Iran to adhere to its commitments based on the agreement that has already been made." The spokesperson stated in her meeting with reporters: "If Iran does not do this, we will face problems. But based on the temporary agreement, we expect it to be implemented." Harf also entered into a Twitter dispute on Wednesday with a writer from the New York Times, who wrote in the June 3 edition of the newspaper: "Inspectors report that Iran's nuclear fuel reserves have increased by about 20% over the past 18 months." The newspaper cited a recent report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published on Friday, which also drew criticisms from Iran. The New York Times added that Western officials and experts are unaware of the reason for this increase in uranium reserves. Harf tweeted: "I am surprised that the New York Times has allowed such inaccuracies to be published in its report." David Sanger, the writer of the New York Times report, indirectly responded to the State Department spokesperson and tweeted a copy of a report from the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), stating: "For those who are surprised." Harf replied again to Sanger, saying: "Choose as much as you want from the Institute for Science and International Security report. The main foundations of your report are based on inaccuracies." The State Department spokesperson referred to the "inaccurate" sentences in the New York Times report and introduced each sentence that she deemed incorrect. David Frum, an advisor to George W. Bush and one of the individuals who included the phrase "Axis of Evil" in George Bush's speech, identifying Iran, North Korea, and Iraq as the axis of evil, tweeted: "It is very bad to be a State Department spokesperson and want to spin the issue on behalf of the Iranian government." Harf directly responded to Frum, stating: "This is not a defense of Iran. It is a defense of the agreement that was reached in negotiations (in Lausanne). These are two completely different things." The New York Times report was published while the IAEA report specifies that agency experts, who monitor Iran's nuclear facilities daily, say there is no evidence of Iran moving towards building a nuclear weapon. These experts also state that Tehran has halted the development of facilities that could be used to build nuclear weapons. The New York Times report regarding the increase in Iran's enriched uranium reserves comes as the Obama administration is trying to convince the US Congress that if a final agreement is signed, Iran will reduce its nuclear fuel stockpile by 96% within one month after the agreement. Iran and world powers are working to reach a final nuclear agreement in less than a month.