Germany, Britain and France: Iran must end 20% uranium enrichment

Germany, Britain and France have called on Iran to immediately halt uranium enrichment, saying Iran's move to enrich uranium to 20 percent violates the international agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Germany, Britain, and France, the European Troika that signed the 2015 JCPOA nuclear agreement, issued a joint statement on Wednesday, January 6, expressing concern over the start of uranium enrichment to 20 percent at the Fordow nuclear facility.

The statement said that this Iranian action has no valid civilian justification and is a clear violation of Iran's JCPOA commitments.

The European troika of Britain, France, and Germany, unlike the United States, which withdrew from the deal, is still committed to its obligations under the deal. However, these countries issued a warning in their statement, urging Iran to halt uranium enrichment as soon as possible so as not to jeopardize the important opportunity to return to diplomacy with the next US administration.

Ali Rabiei, a spokesman for the Iranian government, announced on Monday, January 5, that, by order of the president, "the gas injection process has begun at the Fordow power plant and the first enriched uranium product will be produced in a few hours."

Rabiei also said that the 20% enrichment process was carried out following notification to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

This Iranian action raised concerns among European countries, especially Iran's neighboring countries.

Source: DW