Iran imposes restrictions on nuclear inspections

Move is an effort to pressure U.S., Europe to lift crippling sanctions.

TEHRAN, IRAN — Iran officially started restricting international inspections of its nuclear facilities Tuesday, a bid to pressure European countries and President Joe Biden’s administration to lift crippling economic sanctions and restore the 2015 nuclear deal. World powers slammed the restrictions as a “dangerous” move.

What Iran did

No more footage: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said a new law had gone into effect Tuesday, under which Iran will no longer share surveillance footage of its nuclear facilities with the U.N. agency.

never gave them live video, but (recordings) were given daily and weekly,” Zarif said of the IAEA’S access to information recorded by camera monitors. “The tape recording of our (nuclear) program will be kept in Iran.”

The Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Tehran’s civilian nuclear agency, has promised to preserve the tapes for three months, then hand them over to the IAEA — but only if granted sanctions relief. Otherwise, Iran has vowed to erase the tapes, narrowing the window for a diplomatic breakthrough.

A step away from weapons-grade: The International Atomic Energy Agency reported in a confidential document distributed to member countries and seen by The Associated Press that Iran had added 38.8 pounds of uranium enriched up to 20% to its stockpile as of Feb. 16. It was the first official confirmation of plans Iran announced in January to enrich to the greater purity, which is just a technical step away from weap

ons-grade levels and far past the 3.67% purity allowed under the nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.

Why it matters

2018 deal faltering: Iran’s violations of the JCPOA and the move Tuesday to limit international inspections underscore the daunting task facing Biden as he seeks to reverse former President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. unilaterally out of the deal in 2018. That left Germany, France, Britain, China and Russia struggling to keep it alive.

THEJCPOA was the most significant pact between Iran and major world powers since its 1979 Islamic revolution, and Germany, France and Britain stressed their commitment Tuesday to preserving it, urging Iran to “stop and reverse all measures that reduce transparency.”

Pressure campaign to end sanctions: Since Trump pulled the U.S. out of the JCPOA, Iran has gradually been violating its restrictions to put pressure on the remaining nations to come up with economic incentives to offset crippling American sanctions. Besides surpassing the purity and stockpiles allowed, Iran has also been spinning advanced centrifuges and producing uranium metal.

What’s next

Actions still reversible: Zarif stressed in a tweet Tuesday that Iran’s new limits on nuclear inspections and other violations of the pact are reversible, insisting that the U.S. move first to revive the deal.

The Biden administration has said it’s ready to join talks with Iran and world powers to discuss a return to the deal. Zarif responded to the overture cautiously Tuesday,

‘A constructive path’: In further diplomatic moves, the new U.S. administration rescinded the Trump-imposed U.N. sanctions and eased restrictions on the domestic travel of Iranian diplomats posted to the United Nations.

Cabinet spokesman Ali Rabiei praised the steps Tuesday but threw cold water on hopes for a swift revival of the deal. “While we consider this as putting America on a constructive path, we see (the steps) as extremely insufficient,” he said.

VAHID SALEMI/ASSOCIATED PRESS Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif addresses a conference in Tehran, Iran, on Tuesday. He later told journalists the country has started implementing a law to curb U.N. inspections into its nuclear program.