US to deploy 1,000 troops as row with Iran escalates

Tehran threatens to breach deal’s limits on enriched uranium by June 27 unless European powers step in

THE United States last night said it had approved the deployment of 1,000 additional troops to the Middle East against the backdrop of soaring tensions with Iran.

Patrick Shanahan, the acting defence secretary, said forces were being sent “for defensive purposes to address air, naval, and ground-based threats” in the area.

“The United States does not seek conflict with Iran,” his statement said, adding that the deployment aimed “to ensure the safety and welfare of our military personnel working throughout the region and to protect our national interests”.

The announcement came as the Iran nuclear deal looked to be in danger of collapsing by the end of the month. Tehran said it would breach the agreement on June 27 unless Europe finds a way to get around US sanctions and bolster its faltering economy.

One year after Donald Trump pulled the US out of the 2015 deal, Tehran said yesterday that, in 10 days, it will pass the limits on enriched uranium to which it consented.

The ultimatum is likely to trigger a diplomatic scramble by European powers and force Britain, France and Germany to consider whether they will sanction Iran if it breaks the accord.

European officials said there appeared to be little hope of reaching a compromise before the Iranian deadline. “If [the European states] had any cards, I think they would have played them by now,” one diplomat said.

Federica Mogherini, the EU’S foreign affairs chief, said the EU hoped and expected Iran to comply with the deal.

“I will not elaborate on what happens if and when, because at the moment, as of today, Iran is still compliant,” she said after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

If the deal does collapse it will plunge the world back into the uncertainty of the early 2010s, when Iran was amassing material that could be used for a nuclear weapon, while Israel and the US threatened strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. The new threat comes amid already heightened tensions after the US accused Iran of attacking six oil ships in the Gulf of Oman over the last month. Iran denies responsibility.

The US yesterday dismissed Iran’s threats as “nuclear blackmail”.

“Iran’s enrichment plans are only possible because the horrible nuclear deal left their capabilities intact,” said Garrett Marquis, spokesman for the National Security Council.

“President Trump has made it clear that he will never allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons. The regime’s nuclear blackmail must be met with increased international pressure.”

Under the 2015 agreement, Iran was able to hold up to 300kg of low-grade uranium. “In 10 days’ time we will pass this limit,” said Behrouz Kamalvandi, a spokesman for the country’s atomic energy agency.

Iran threatened to resume enrichment of high-grade uranium, and Mojtaba Zolnour, the head of Iran’s nuclear parliamentary committee, warned that it could also pull out of the global Nonproliferation Treaty.