At midnight (9.30 pm CET), the time has come: Iran will start uranium enrichment again in the Fordo nuclear facility. The production should begin in the night of Thursday, said the spokesman of the Iranian nuclear energy organization, Behrus Kamalwandi, according to the parastatal news agency Insa.
Iran's President Hassan Rohani had already spoken on Tuesday about a "fourth leg" of the gradual withdrawal from the international nuclear deal.
2000 kilograms of uranium gas have been transported to the nuclear facility Fordo, said the nuclear organization. The gas should be injected in the next few hours in previously inactive 1044 centrifuges, said Kamalwandi the state broadcaster IRIB.
As a result of the 2015 agreement, uranium enrichment had been frozen in the underground facility of Fordo, 180 kilometers south of the capital, Tehran. With the right know-how and modern centrifuges, uranium can be enriched up to 90 percent in the medium or long term. This would then allow the construction of a nuclear bomb.
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) condemned Iran's decision as "unacceptable". Tehran put the step "the nuclear agreement on the line". He called on Iran to "return to full fulfillment of its obligations." The goal is still to maintain the agreement.
The US government accused Tehran after the announcement of the continuation of "nuclear blackmail". President Donald Trump stepped down from Iran's international nuclear deal in May 2018 and has been pursuing a policy of "maximum pressure" on Tehran ever since.
The Israeli Prime Minister condemned Tehran's actions. "Iran is increasing its aggression," said Benjamin Netanyahu, according to his office. "He wants to destroy Israel, we defend ourselves." Iran will never be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. "This is not only for the sake of our security and our future, but in the interest of the future of the Middle East and the world."