TEHRAN, Iran — Iran will surpass the uranium-stockpile limit set by its nuclear deal in the next 10 days, an official said Monday, raising pressure on Europeans trying to save the accord a year after the U.S. withdrawal lit the fuse for the heightened tensions now between Tehran and Washington.

Hours later, the Pentagon announced it was sending about 1,000 additional American troops to the Middle East to bolster security in the region in the face of what U.S. officials said is a growing threat from Iran.

The announcement by Iran’s nuclear agency marked yet another deadline set by Tehran. President Hassan Rouhani already has warned Europe that a new deal needs to be in place by July 7 or the Islamic Republic would increase its enrichment of uranium.

Atomic energy spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi suggested that Iran’s enrichment could reach up to 20%, just a step away from weapons-grade levels.

It appears as if Iran has begun its own maximum pressure campaign on the world after facing one from President Donald Trump’s administration that deeply cut into its sale of crude oil abroad and sent its economy into freefall. Europe has so far been unable to offer Iran a way around the U.S. sanctions.

The development follows apparent attacks last week in the Strait of Hormuz on oil tankers, assaults that Washington has blamed on Iran. While Iran has denied being involved, it laid mines in the 1980s targeting oil tankers around the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil passes.

“If this condition continues, there will be no deal” anymore, Kamalvandi said. He accused the Europeans of “killing time” as the clock runs down.

Rouhani, greeting France’s new ambassador to Tehran on Monday, similarly warned that time was running out on the deal.

“The current situation is very critical and France and the other parties to the (deal) still have a very limited opportunity to play their historic role for saving the deal,” Rouhani said, according to his website.

The Iranian announcement appeared timed to strike just as European foreign ministers met in Luxembourg. Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s top diplomat, declined to specifically address the Iranian announcement.

“At the moment, as of today, Iran is still technically compliant and we strongly hope, encourage and expect that Iran continues to comply,” Mogherini told journalists. She insisted she would await the next report on the issue from the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Under terms of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, Iran can keep a stockpile of no more than 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of low-enriched uranium. Kamalvandi said that given Iran’s recent decision to quadruple its production of low-enriched uranium, it would pass the 300-kilogram limit on Thursday, June 27.

The Vienna-based IAEA said last month that Iran remained within its stockpile limits and declined to comment on Iran’s announcement. Kamalvandi said Iran would continue to allow the U.N. to inspect its nuclear facilities for the time being.

He also raised the specter of increasing its enrichment levels, saying Iran needs 5% enriched uranium for its nuclear power plant in southern Iranian port of Bushehr and 20% enriched fuel for its Tehran research reactor.

The nuclear deal limits Iran to enriching uranium only to 3.67%, enough for power plants and other peaceful purposes.

But after America pulled out of the nuclear accord and escalated sanctions, Rouhani set a July 7 deadline for Europe to come up with better terms for the deal or Tehran would boost enrichment further. So far, a European mechanism called INSTEX to protect trade with Iran has yet to take off.

The danger, nuclear nonproliferation experts warn, is that at 20% enrichment, only a fraction of atoms need to be removed to enrich up to weapons-grade levels of 90%. Iran maintains its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but the 2015 deal grew out of Western concerns about the program.

Under the accord, Iran agreed to limit its uranium enrichment in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. Since Trump took office, the U.S. has steadily stripped away at the accord, and he pulled America out of the deal in May 2018.

However, Iran’s announcement that it was on the verge of surpassing the uranium-stockpile limit set by the nuclear agreement put the U.S. is the awkward position of having to push Iran to abide by the deal Trump has disparaged.

“It’s unfortunate that they have made this announcement today,” State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said. “It doesn’t surprise anybody and this is why the president has often said that the JCPOA needs to be replaced with a better deal.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the international community should reinstate sanctions if Iran follows through on its threats, adding: “In any case, Israel will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons.”

Tensions have risen in the region since last month. The U.S. rushed an aircraft carrier strike group and other military assets to the Middle East in response to what it said were threats from Iran. On Monday, the Pentagon said it would send additional security forces and troops for increased surveillance and intelligence gathering in the region.

Meanwhile, a series of mysterious attacks have targeted oil tankers, and the U.S. blames Iranian-laid limpet mines. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen also have launched a series of drone and missile attacks on Saudi Arabia. The Pentagon on Monday released new photos intended to bolster its case that Iran was responsible for the attacks.

Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which the U.S. suspects in the attacks, answers only to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and operates outside of the traditional military’s control.

Gen. Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, the chief of the general staff of Iran’s armed forces, denied Tehran was involved in the tanker attacks, saying Monday the country only would respond in “an open, strong and severe way” if needed.

But he also reiterated Iran’s traditional stance on the Strait of Hormuz.

“If we decide to block the Strait of Hormuz, we will to do it in a way that even a drop of oil won’t pass the strait,” Bagheri added.

Kamalvandi spoke to Iranian journalists at the country’s Arak heavy water nuclear reactor. Such reactors produce plutonium that can be used in nuclear weapons. Iran, under the nuclear deal, had reconfigured the facility to address Western concerns on that issue.

However, Kamalvandi said the country could rebuild the facility to make it produce plutonium. He made a point to give an interview to Iranian state television, standing next to the open pit where the reactor would be in the facility.

As the camera panned down to what would be the reactor’s core, Kamalvandi stressed that piping could be replaced and the reactor could be built to make plutonium. Hard-liners opposed to the nuclear deal had constantly accused the agency of filling the entire pit with concrete.

“They had previously photoshopped a picture of this place having been filled up with concrete,” Kamalvandi said.

He added: “The message that we tried to get across to Europeans today was that not much time is left for them.” </s> Iranian presidency, AFP | A handout picture made available by the Iranian presidential office shows Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attending events for “nuclear technology day" in Tehran on April 9, 2019.

Iran said Monday it will surpass from June 27 its uranium stockpile limit set under the nuclear deal with world powers, turning up the pressure after the US walked away from the landmark pact last year.

"Today the countdown to pass the 300 kilograms reserve of enriched uranium has started and in 10 days time... we will pass this limit," Iran's atomic energy organisation spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi told a news conference broadcast live on state television.

The move "will be reversed once other parties live up to their commitments," he added, speaking from the Arak nuclear plant southwest of Tehran.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called on the international community to immediately hit Iran with "snapback sanctions" should it violate the deal by surpassing the uranium stockpile limit set in the deal.

Speaking at a news conference in Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron said he "regrets" Iran's announcement, noting that the Islamic Republic so far still respects its obligations under the 2015 accord.

On May 8, President Hassan Rouhani said Iran would stop observing restrictions on its stocks of enriched uranium and heavy water agreed under the 2015 nuclear deal.

Rouhani said the move was in retaliation for the unilateral US withdrawal from the accord a year earlier, which saw Washington impose tough economic sanctions on Tehran.

Tensions between Tehran and Washington have escalated ever since, with the United States bolstering its military presence in the region and blacklisting Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organisation.

The United States has also blamed Iran for last week's attacks on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman, a charge Tehran has denied as "baseless".

Iran has threatened to go even further in scaling down nuclear commitments by July 8 unless remaining partners to the deal -- Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia -- help it circumvent US sanctions and especially enable it to sell its oil.

"The current situation is sensitive" and there is still time for the deal's partners to save this agreement, Rouhani told the French ambassador to Tehran Philippe Thiebaud on Monday.

"The collapse of the JCPOA is undoubtedly not in the interest of Iran... the region and the world," he added, referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the deal is formally known.

Under the agreement, Iran pledged to reduce its nuclear capacities for several years and allow international inspectors inside the country to monitor its activities in return for relief from international sanctions.

The deal set a limit on the number of uranium-enriching centrifuges, and restricted its right to enrich uranium to no higher than 3.67 percent, well below weapons-grade levels of around 90 percent.

It also called on Iran to export enriched uranium and heavy water to ensure the country's reserves would stay within the production ceiling set by the agreement, yet recent US restrictions have made such exports virtually impossible.

According to Rouhani, the ultimatum he issued last month was intended to "save the (deal), not destroy it".

The three European parties to the accord created a trade mechanism meant to bypass US sanctions, but their attempt was dismissed by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a "bitter joke".

The spokesman for Iran's atomic energy organisation warned further steps could be taken if world powers do not step up to help the country.

"They range from going to 3.68 percent to any other percent according to the country's needs," said Kamalvandi.

Authorities were still debating whether to "redesign or revive" the Arak reactor, he added.

Uranium enriched to much higher levels than Iran's current stocks can be used as the fissile core of a nuclear weapon, while heavy water is a source of plutonium, which can be used as an alternative way to produce a warhead.

"#Iran not bluffing about 60-day deadline for ceasing compliance with parts of nuclear deal," Ellie Geranmayeh, senior fellow at European Council on Foreign Relation said in a tweet.

She downplayed the importance of uranium and heavy water stockpiles increasing and said it would be more worrying for Europe if Iran exceeded the enrichment level allowed in the deal.

"I imagine Tehran will do this incrementally, testing Europeans at each stage."

Germany has acknowledged the economic benefits Iran hoped for from the deal were now "more difficult to obtain", but has urged Iran to fully respect the "extraordinarily important" nuclear deal.

"A point to Europeans: if the first step took time to be done, other steps, especially increasing enrichment... need no more than a day or two," said Kamalvandi. </s> Hassan Rouhani has been sworn in for a second term in office in a Tehran ceremony over the weekend that highlighted European support for the nuclear deal with the west despite Donald Trump’s threats to unilaterally withdraw from the agreement.

Rouhani, who was re-elected in a landslide victory in May, took an oath before parliamentarians and foreign dignitaries, including the EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, and senior diplomats from the UK, France and Germany.

The president said in his speech, which was aired live on the national television, that “Iran would not be the first to pull out of the nuclear deal, but it will not remain silent about the US repeated violations of the accord”. 



Despite his belligerent rhetoric, Trump has twice reluctantly certified Iran’s compliance with the deal, allowing the nuclear-related sanctions to remain suspended, but it has emerged that he has instructed aides to find a way to declare Tehran in violation of the agreement.

“Today is the time for the mother of all negotiations, not the mother of all bombs,” Rouhani said, referring to the US dropping its largest non-nuclear bomb ever used in combat in Afghanistan in April. The Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, was among those present at Rouhani’s inauguration.

“The US has showed a lack of commitment in its implementation of the nuclear deal because its policymakers are addicted to the illegal and futile policy of sanctions and humiliation,” Rouhani said. “This has proved the US to be an unreliable partner to the world and even to its longtime allies.”

Referring to Trump, he added: “We do not wish to engage with political novices ... Those who want to tear up the nuclear deal should know that they will be ripping up their own political life by doing so and the world won’t forget their noncompliance.”

The International Atomic Energy Agency has said in its latest report that Iran was complying with the terms of the agreement, but Tehran has complained the US is reneging on its obligations. Iran’s parliamentary speaker, Ali Larijani, said last week that Tehran had formally complained to the joint commission supervising implementation of the accord over the US senate’s new sanctions against Iranian entities, imposed over Tehran’s testing of missiles.

Mogherini “reiterated the EU’s unwavering commitment to the deal, recalling its historic significance, multilateral dimension and its importance for regional and global stability”, an official statement said.



Local media quoted Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, as telling Mogherini: “Mr Trump is trying to destroy the nuclear accord at Iran’s expense, and Europe should be conscious of this.”

Sadegh Zibakalam, a Tehran University professor, said the inauguration sent a powerful message to Trump. “The fact that Ms Mogherini as the representative of the EU foreign policy was here showed that the EU values the nuclear deal greatly,” he said.

“Internationally, Iran has had a win and a loss,” he said. “Our loss is that Obama is gone and the Democrats have been replaced by the Republicans. The win is that Iran has been successful in strengthening its relations with Europe. The main reason Trump has not been able to dismantle the agreement is that the EU is resisting and the US knows very well that the EU is serious in keeping the nuclear deal.”

In a sign of thawing relations with Europe, Mogherini was popular in Iran. A group of Iranian parliamentarians came under attack domestically after an image circulated online showing them jostling to take a selfie with her. One MP, Farajollah Najafi, apologised after largely negative reactions online.

Many Iranian social media users said the MPs’ behaviour was embarrassing and demeaning and in sharp contrast to women’s rights in Iran. Rouhani has been under pressure in recent weeks to nominate female ministers as he considers a cabinet reshuffle. In 2013, he unveiled his cabinet on the day he was inaugurated, but he has yet to name his new ministers.

Rouhani’s inauguration dominated front pages in Tehran. “Inauguration with an anti-Trump flavour” read the headline of Iranian daily Khorasan. “Rouhani, the 12th tenant of Pastor” read Kelid’s front page, referring to Rouhani as being the 12th president after the 1979 revolution to occupy the presidential palace in Pastor Street, Tehran.

The ultra-conservative newspaper Keyhan was critical of Rouhani’s speech, saying in a headline: “Unveiling the mother of negotiations instead of confronting the mother of sanctions.”

Rouhani’s inauguration came two days after his re-election was formally endorsed by the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who urged the president on Thursday to conduct “extensive interaction with the world”.

Nasser Hadian, a political expert based in Tehran, said the ceremony showed that the world was recognising Iran. “The world understands that, in spite of differences, there is a mechanism inside Iran through the ballot box that helps resolve big issues.”

Hadian said that despite his global advances, Rouhani faces pressure from hardliners domestically. “His opponents want to limit his power in the political sphere, especially in regards to the civil society and social freedoms. They have all the means and the facilities to prevent him from doing so.”

The reformists want him to deliver on social freedoms, especially human rights, Hadian said, but the conservatives want him to remain loyal to revolutionary values. “His biggest challenge and priority in the second term will be the economy.

“The nuclear deal won’t collapse because of Iran. There is a consensus inside the country that the nuclear deal should survive, so Iran won’t violate first, but if the US wants to make excuses and, for example, demand inspection of military sites without any valid evidence then the world knows what the US is up to. The world is not stupid.” </s> Iran has suspended key commitments under the 2015 international nuclear deal, a year after it was abandoned by the US.

President Hassan Rouhani said he would keep enriched uranium stocks in the country rather than sell them abroad.

He also threatened to resume production of higher enriched uranium in 60 days.

According to BBC, the accord was aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions in return for sanctions relief. Iran-US tensions have risen since Washington quit.

Iran’s economy has since been hit by renewed US sanctions.

Iran informed the remaining parties to the deal – France, Germany, Russia, China and the UK – of its decision on Wednesday morning.

In response, French Defence Minister Florence Parly told French media that the European powers were doing everything they could to keep the deal alive but there would be consequences and possibly sanctions if the deal was not adhered to.

Iran’s announcement comes after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made an unscheduled visit to Iraq, and a US aircraft carrier was deployed to the Gulf region.
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US officials have reported threats to US forces and their allies from Iran, but have given few details about the exact nature of the threat.

What did President Rouhani say?

Mr Rouhani said he was suspending two parts of the deal, which is known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that Iran was adhering to – the sale of surplus enriched uranium and heavy water.

He then gave the European powers, Russia and China 60 days to meet their financial and oil commitments to the deal. If they did so, Iran would resume the sales.

If, however, those commitments were not met and the powers chose to follow US sanctions, he said Iran would begin higher enrichment of uranium, which is currently capped, and begin developing its Arak heavy water reactor based on plans made prior to the deal.

But the Iranian president said Iran was not pulling out of the deal.

“We do not want to leave the agreement. All the people of the world should know that today is not the end of the JCPOA; it is a new step within the framework of the JCPOA,” he said.

However, he said the five powers would face a “very decisive reaction” if Iran’s nuclear case was referred to the United Nations Security Council. </s> LONDON: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani , who is being sworn-in for a further term on Saturday, has accused the United States of trying to undermine Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers, and urged European countries not to side with Washington.Rouhani, who was decisively re-elected in May after promising to open Iran to the world and create more jobs, will take the oath of office before parliament in Tehran in the presence of dignitaries including senior European figures."The US's repeated violations of its commitments and the new sanctions it imposed on Iran have left a negative impact on Iran's public opinion, and can hamper implementation of the nuclear deal," Rouhani was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency in advance of the ceremony.The deal he championed with the United States and five other major powers in 2015 led to the lifting of most sanctions against Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.Rouhani has intensified efforts to protect the deal - the biggest achievement of his first term - against Washington's return to an aggressive Iran policy since U.S. President Donald Trump took office.The U.S. Senate voted in late July to impose new sanctions on Iran, Russia and North Korea . The sanctions target Iran's missiles programme, as well as human rights issues.Iran has said the new U.S. sanctions break the terms of the nuclear deal and has vowed a "proportional" reaction.In a meeting with European foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini in Tehran, Rouhani said the presence of senior European dignitaries at his swearing-in ceremony showed that Europe was determined to expand ties with Tehran despite U.S. pressures.Tasnim also quoted Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying in his meeting with Mogherini: "Mr Trump is trying to destroy the nuclear accord at Iran's expense, and Europe should be conscious of this."Ali Akbar Velayati, a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, also asked Europe to "take a more independent policy towards Iran" state media reported.Other top foreign officials present at Rouhani's swearing-in ceremony will include French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, State Secretary at the German Foreign Ministry Michael Roth, and British Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa Alistair Burt.Security in the capital has been increased to the highest level, the police said, two months after gunmen linked to the Islamic State group attacked the parliament and the mausoleum of the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, killing 17 people.Rouhani's deputy said on Wednesday that Rouhani would keep on two important ministers for his second term: Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, who is largely credited with closing a deal with the French oil major Total, and Foreign Minister Zarif, Iran's lead negotiator in the nuclear agreement.The powers of the elected president are limited by those of the unelected Supreme Leader who outranks him, but the scale of Rouhani's victory can give the pragmatist president a strong mandate.However, analysts say Rouhani may struggle to make a significant impact given sharpening divisions in the dual clerical-republican power structure in Iran, and Trump's aggressive policy against Tehran.While he spoke much about women's rights during his campaign, Rouhani is not expected to select any women for his cabinet.He also has a debt to pay to reformists who put their weight behind his election campaign. </s> The commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has slammed the address made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and "anyone who backs" Washington, saying that the Iranian people would deliver a "strong punch to the mouth" of the American official.

"The people of Iran should stand united in the face of this," Ismail Kowsari, the deputy commander of the Sarollah Revolutionary Guards base in Tehran added, as quoted by the Iranian Labour News Agency.

The statement comes a day after Pompeo delivered a speech dubbed "After the Deal: A New Iran Strategy," in which he promised that the US would apply unprecedented financial pressure on Tehran via "strongest in history" sanctions. While stating that Washington won't renegotiate the historic Iran nuclear deal, he also outlined 12 demands for Tehran, including the withdrawal of forces from Syria.

The Islamic Republic has slammed the address, with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani saying that the world cannot accept that Washington makes unilateral decisions for all nations.

READ MORE: Israeli PM Praises Pompeo's Iran Speech as 'Policy That Can Guarantee Security'

In its turn, the EU, which has been one of the brokers of the 2015 nuclear agreement, has also criticized the move: "Secretary Pompeo's speech has not demonstrated how walking away from the JCPOA (nuclear deal) has made or will make the region safer from the threat of nuclear proliferation or how it puts us in a better position to influence Iran's conduct in areas outside the scope of JCPOA."

The US relations with its major EU allies — namely Germany, France and Britain — members of the P5+1 group that reached the nuclear accord, have significantly deteriorated due to President Donald Trump's decision on the withdrawal from the accord, which he has long been as the "worst deal in history."

According to German media reports, the EU, Germany, France and Britain have invited Russia and China to discuss the future of the Iranian nuclear deal in Vienna, with the US representatives being sidelined from the upcoming meeting. </s> BERLIN — The world powers struggling to preserve a nuclear deal with Iran are facing an increasingly uphill battle, with a new deadline from Tehran on finding a solution to make up for last year’s unilateral U.S. withdrawal from the accord and the increasing economic hardship that has put on the Islamic Republic.

After Iran notified Britain, Russia, China, the European Union, France and Germany of its intentions in a letter, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said in a televised address Wednesday that the nations have 60 days to come up with a plan to shield his country from the sanctions imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump after he pulled Washington out of the deal.

“If the five countries join negotiations and help Iran to reach its benefits in the field of oil and banking, Iran will return to its commitments according to the nuclear deal,” Rouhani said.

The 2015 deal, intended to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, promised economic incentives in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities. Despite efforts so far by the others to keep the deal from collapsing, Iran’s economy has been struggling and its currency has plummeted in value after the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions.

Later Wednesday, Trump issued an executive order announcing new sanctions targeting Iran’s steel, aluminum, copper and iron sectors, which provide foreign currency earnings for Tehran.

Many international corporations are reluctant to risk running afoul of Washington and have severed ties with Iran; a complicated barter-type system set up by the Europeans to allow their businesses to skirt direct financial transactions with Iran — and thus evade possible U.S. sanctions — is not yet finalized.

Iran has continued abiding by the stipulations of the deal, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, but had been expressing increasing frustration with the inability of the Europeans to provide economic relief, culminating with Wednesday’s threat to resume higher enrichment of uranium in 60 days unless new terms are negotiated.

Despite Rouhani’s threatening rhetoric and the now-ticking clock, Europeans were cautiously hoping the Iranian president was not on the verge of breaking the deal but instead seeking to show strength domestically as the economy slumps.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said his office had been in contact with all the others involved in the Iran deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, since the announcement to see what could be done to get Tehran to back down.

“Our opinion is and remains: We want to preserve the agreement, in particular to prevent Iran from coming into possession of nuclear weapons,” he told reporters. “We don’t need further escalation in the region.”

Similarly, French Defense Minister Florence Parly told BFMTV television that “nothing would be worse than Iran leaving this deal.”

“We absolutely want to keep this agreement alive,” Parly said.

At a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in London, British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt called Iran’s threat “unwelcome” and urged it not to take “further escalatory steps,” while emphasizing Britain was not ready to give up on the JCPOA.

“For as long as Iran keeps its commitments then so, too, will the United Kingdom,” he said.

Hunt said Britain and the U.S. agreed on the need to confront the threat from Iran, but “it’s no secret we have a different approach on how best to achieve that.”

Pompeo was restrained in his own assessment of the letter that Iran sent to the JCPOA group outlining its intentions.

“I think it was intentionally ambiguous,” he said. “We’ll have to wait to see what Iran’s actions actually are. They have made have made a number of statements about actions they have threatened to do in order to get the world to jump.”

In his television address, Rouhani also tried a gambit designed to hit a sore spot for Europe, over the issue of migration and drug-smuggling.

Noting that Iran now cooperates on issues like controlling immigration and targeting Afghan opium and hashish traffickers, he said: “You are obliged ... for your own security, for protecting your youths against drugs as well as controlling influx of immigrants.”

There was no immediate response from officials in Europe, which has seen an influx of refugees and migrants from the Middle East in recent years.

China, a key Iranian ally and trading partner, suggested that Washington’s recent decision to deploy an aircraft carrier group and a bomber wing to the Middle East to confront unspecified threats from Tehran had added fuel to the fire.

“We regret that the U.S. has further aggravated the tension on the Iranian nuclear issue,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said. “We call on all parties concerned to exercise restraint, strengthen dialogue and avoid escalating tensions.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov went a step further, saying the situation surrounding the fate of the 2015 nuclear accord has been complicated by “irresponsible behavior” from Washington.

After meeting in Moscow with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif, Lavrov reaffirmed Russia’s support for the deal and blamed the U.S. for undermining it.

“The U.S. is to blame for the situation and it makes it difficult for both Iran to fulfill its obligations and ... for the general state of the nuclear non-proliferation regime,” Lavrov said.

Zarif insisted that Iran’s decision to partially withdraw from certain provisions did not violate the agreement, and asserted it was provoked by U.S. actions toward Iran.

He also said Iran will uphold its obligations if European signatories to the deal uphold theirs.

Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Jill Lawless in London, Frank Jordans in Berlin, Elaine Ganley in Paris, Lorne Cook in Brussels and Matthew Bodner in Moscow contributed.

Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, has warned that time is running out for negotiating a permanent agreement on his country's nuclear programme.

Mr Rouhani told a news conference in New York that courageous decisions would be needed if a deal was to be struck by the deadline in late November. </s> Tehran, Iran (CNN) On Tuesday afternoon, US President Donald Trump made good on a promise to "tear up" the Iran nuclear deal. By Wednesday morning, hardline Iranian lawmakers delivered on vows to "burn it" in response.

Convening in Iran's parliament -- the Majlis -- conservative MPs literally set a copy of the landmark agreement on fire. They also burned the United States flag amid chants of "Death to America."

"Trump's abandoning of the nuclear deal was a diplomatic show... Iran has no obligation to honor its commitments under the current situation," Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani said in his address to the assembly.

"It is obvious that Trump only understands the language of force."

Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has made a last-ditch effort to moderate Iran's response to Trump's pullout, promising to commit to the agreement for the time being.

But from where I stand in Tehran, it is very difficult to see how the agreement will survive, and for the policy of negotiating with the West, championed by Rouhani, to emerge unscathed.

Clinging to hope

In an address following Trump's announcement on Monday, Rouhani indicated that if other parties to the agreement could provide assurances that Iran would continue to "fully benefit" from the deal, his country in turn would stick to its part of the agreement.

The United Kingdom, France and German -- known as the E3 -- as well as China and Russia are party to the multilateral nuclear agreement, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Each has promised to abide by the deal after Trump's withdrawal, continuing to do business with Iran as they have since the agreement lifted international sanctions.

"I have ordered the foreign ministry to negotiate with the European countries, China and Russia in coming weeks," said Rouhani. "If at the end of this short period we conclude that we can fully benefit from the JCPOA with the cooperation of all countries, the deal would remain."

The alternative, Rouhani seemed to indicate, would spell disaster for international security. He said he had ordered the country's atomic industry organizations to prepare to restart enrichment at an "industrial level" if negotiations fail.

Iran's Supreme Leader, and final arbiter on all Iranian policy, echoed those threats even more strongly. "Within the next few years, on the basis of assessment of the experts, the country will have 20,000 megawatts of nuclear energy," Ayatollah Khamenei said, according to a transcript of his remarks on his official webpage.

"When the nuclear issue started, some of our well-known people were saying why do we need a nuclear program? Just put it aside. Of course, this was wrong. The nuclear issue is needed by the country," he continued.

Much of the rest of the country appears to have adopted Rouhani's stance and is clinging to hope. Many newspapers here are praising Rouhani's response, advocating a wait-and-see approach to see if the Europeans will stand by them, preventing the country from plunging into an even deeper economic crisis.

Still it's difficult to see how this will work. The US is not only pulling out of the agreement but has also reinstated secondary sanctions, meaning countries from Europe that do business with Iran may also be penalized.

US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell has already said that German firms should wind down business dealings that they have in Iran "immediately."

Indeed one of the countries hurt most by Trump's announcement is France -- and just on the heels of French President Emmanuel Macron's "bromance" with the US President.

The French have longstanding partnerships in Iran's automotive sector, which is going to be targeted by Trump's sanctions. France's oil giant Total signed a deal to develop phase 11 of Iran's South Pars field with a substantial initial investment . Trump's sanctions have also hit Iran's oil and gas sector.

While Rouhani and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif have called on the Europeans to defy the US, this seems to be a tall order.

Iran's conservatives, meanwhile, aren't banking on European rescue. Instead, they are preparing their public for a confrontation between the US and Iran and have said that there should be a very strong response to Trump's withdrawal.

It's not clear what the response would look like and how this could hurt the US.

Iranians believe they have honored the deal

While Trump and his cohort of critics of the Iran deal have argued that the agreement has given the country a strategic edge in the region, allowing it leeway to perfect its ballistic missile program, the Iranians say the opposite.

They argue that they have abided by the deal, stopping their uranium enrichment program, permanently destroying their only water reactor in Arak along with many of their centrifuges. Weapons inspectors and US intelligence officials, including former CIA chief and current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have attested to Iran's compliance with the agreement.

On the other hand, Iranians say they have seen little in the way of economic benefits, with some US sanctions having remained and Trump's persistent threats to withdraw since taking office dealing a major blow to investor confidence in the Islamic republic.

Trump's announcement yesterday only cemented skepticism, giving hardliners here a big boost. Iran's hawks have always maintained the US couldn't be trusted, and now they are saying "we told you so," greatly undermining Rouhani who has persistently advocated diplomacy with the West.

An end to optimism

A great deal of optimism filled Tehran's streets when the landmark nuclear agreement was first announced on July 14, 2015. Many Iranians from various parts of the country's diaspora, particularly the US, streamed into Iran to start businesses there.

They felt strongly that a bright future could be on the horizon. As the deal played out over the past two years, that optimism faded. On Tuesday night, it took a severe blow with what could be the end of the nuclear agreement.

Trump's actions have potentially united Iranians behind hardliners against the US. Contrary to Trump's hopes to exhaust the regime with extra sanctions, he may have inadvertently extended its life.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani tells the Fars News Agency "the time is short for Europe to save the international nuclear deal", and calls on France to take the lead. Reuters reports that Rouhani added the collapse of the nuclear deal would not be in the interests of the region and the world.