Russia 'concerned' over Iran decision to resume enrichment as Iranian Rouhani Announces Measures for 4th JCPOA Step

Russia has expressed its concern over Iran's decision to continue enriching uranium. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has announced the measures to be taken as part of Iran’s fourth step in reducing commitments to the nuclear deal (JCPOA).

 According to President Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov while speaking to the reporters said, "We are monitoring the development of the situation with concern."

"We support the preservation of this deal."

Rouhani  during his announcement said: “We will take the fourth step in reducing commitments to the JCPOA (tomorrow) and I will declare the directives to the Atomic Energy Organization today,” said President Rouhani on Tuesday, during the inauguration ceremony of Azadi Innovation Factory, a venue for the gathering of startups.

“The fourth step includes reducing commitments regarding the Fordow enrichment facility,” Rouhani said.

“Under the JCPOA, we were inquired to have up to 1,044 centrifuges at Fordow, which were supposed to remain without gas. Starting tomorrow, we will start injecting gas into the centrifuges at Fordow as part of the fourth JCPOA step,” the president added.

“To all the remaining sides to the JCPOA and other friendly countries, I’d like to state in advance that our new measures will be taken under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency,” said Rouhani.

“Also, all measures in the fourth step are reversible just like in the previous steps; that is, the moment the other sides to the agreement begin to live up to their commitments, we will resume our own suspended commitments as well,” he added.

“Some countries made efforts to reach positive results before the fourth deadline ran out, but we have no other choice but to take the fourth step starting tomorrow,” Rouhani said.

He went on to stress, however, that “there is time for negotiations for the next two months. If we reached a proper solution for the removal of sanctions on our export of oil and metal, if we could easily use our money in trade transactions, then we would be fully ready to return to the previous conditions [regarding the level of our JCPOA commitments.”

One year after the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, and in the absence of any practical measures from the European sides to the deal to safeguard Iran’s economic interests against US sanctions, Iran announced in May 2019 that it is reducing commitments to JCPOA in a transparent manner and according to Paragraphs 26 and 36 of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in a bid to “create balance between the country’s rights and commitments to the JCPOA.”