Pompeo warns Iran of further sanctions after expansion of its nuclear program

US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has warned Iran of further sanctions and isolation following its expansion of the nuclear program.

"Iran’s latest expansion of its nuclear program will lead to further isolation and sanctions. Nations should restore the longstanding standard of no enrichment for Iran’s nuclear program. Iran’s regime, armed with nuclear weapons, would pose an even greater danger to the world," he wrote on his Twitter account.

Earlier on Sunday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that starting from July 7 Teheran was switching to the second stage of scaling down its commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the nuclear program and was beginning to enrich uranium beyond the level of 3.67%. Soon, Teheran plans to raise the level of enrichment to 5%, above the level set by the JCPOA, in order to build power units for the Bushehr power plant. The senior diplomat said Iran would continue scaling down its commitments under the nuclear deal every 60 days unless its parties stick to the previous agreements.

Tensions over Iran’s nuclear program exacerbated after Washington unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018 and slapped US economic sanctions on Iran’s oil exports. A year later, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Tehran was scaling back some of its commitments under the JCPOA and called on other signatories to the deal to comply with the conditions of the agreement within two months. The JCPOA was signed between Iran, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (Russia, the United Kingdom, China, the United States and France) and Germany in 2015. Under the deal, Iran undertook to curb its nuclear activities and place them under total control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in exchange of abandonment of the sanctions imposed previously by the United Nations Security Council, the European Union and the United States over its nuclear program.

Iran pledged not to enrich uranium above the level of 3.67% for 15 years and maintain enriched uranium stockpiles at the level not exceeding 300 kg, as well as not to build new heavy-water reactors, not to accumulate heavy water and not to develop nuclear explosive devices.