Enrichment, sabotage cast a pall over Iran nuke talks

VIENNA: Talks to save the 2015 Iran nuclear deal resumed in Vienna on Thursday facing new tensions, with Tehran preparing to ramp up uranium enrichment in response to an attack on a facility it blamed on Israel.

After a positive first round of negotiations aimed at resurrecting the 2015 agreement scuttled by Donald Trump, Iran’s push towards enrichment levels needed for military use “puts pressure on everyone,” a European diplomat told AFP.

Britain, France and Germany have expressed “grave concern” over the most recent enrichment announcement, while also rejecting “all escalatory measures by any actor”.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Thursday restated the country’s long-standing position that “we are not seeking to obtain the atomic bomb” and that it was a “mistake” for Europe and United States to express concern that the country could enrich uranium to weapons-grade levels “in one go”.

Tehran says the enrichment move is a response to Israel’s “nuclear terrorism” after an explosion on Sunday knocked out power at its Natanz enrichment plant. A public radio reports in the Israel said it was a sabotage operation by the Mossad spy agency, citing unnamed intelligence sources.

“It definitely complicates things,” the diplomat said, ahead of the talks between the remaining members of the deal - Germany, France, Britain, China, Russia and Iran - resuming at 12.30 pm local time (1030 GMT).

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said late on Wednesday that Washington was taking the “provocative announcement” on enrichment from Iran “very seriously”.