“We are enriching more uranium before the deal was reached ... Pressure has increased on Iran but we continue to progress,” Rouhani said on Thursday in a televised speech, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the official name for the 2015 deal brokered by the Obama administration. He did not elaborate on how much more uranium is being enriched.
The deal was signed by the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in a group known as the P5 + 1 after several years’ worth of negotiations. President Donald Trump has long been a critic of the agreement and directed the United States to withdraw in 2018, while noting that the reduction in sanctions included in the deal has allowed Tehran to pursue its military aspirations in the Middle East.“We have therefore been left with no choice, given Iran’s actions, but to register today our concerns that Iran is not meeting its commitments,” the foreign ministers wrote earlier this week. However, the three foreign ministers of the country said they would remain committed to the agreement.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran escalated after Soleimani’s death, which the United States said was in retaliation for Iran-backed proxy militia attacks on U.S. assets in Iraq that led to the death of an American contractor. President Donald Trump and other top Defense Department officials have said intelligence was obtained that showed Soleimani was planning attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and American facilities.
Iran, in retaliation, fired around 20 missiles at Iraqi bases holding American troops and personnel. The next day, Trump, after announcing that there were no injuries or deaths in the attack, opted for more sanctions on Iran, rather than military escalation, targeting several top-level officials and its industry.