Iran set to raise stakes

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

Hours later, the two countries seemed locked in a standoff when the Pentagon announced it was sending about 1000 more US troops to the Middle East to bolster security in the region in the face of what US officials said was a growing threat from Iran.

The earlier 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 Iran would increase its enrichment of uranium.

Atomic energy spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi suggested that Iran’s enrichment could reach up to 20 per cent, 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 US sanctions. The development follows apparent attacks last week near the Strait of Hormuz on oil tankers, assaults the US 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.