Germany is extremely concerned about Iran breaching the limit set for uranium enrichment and urges it to reverse this decision, the foreign ministry said on Sunday.
“Germany – like our E3 [UK, France, Germany] and EU partners – is extremely concerned by Iran’s announcement that it has begun enriching uranium beyond the concentration of 3.67%,” it said in a statement.
Germany will wait for the confirmation from the IAEA nuclear watchdog.
“As E3 and EU we have repeatedly called on Iran not to take further measures that further undermine the nuclear deal. We strongly urge Iran to stop and reverse all steps that are inconsistent with Iran’s commitments,” it continued.
Germany is in close contact with other signatories to the 2015 pact on further actions, which may include a session of the Joint Commission overseeing the implementation of the agreement.
Echoing Berlin's statement, the UK Foreign Office stated that actions by the Iranian side put Tehran in breach of the nuclear deal.
"While the UK remains fully committed to the deal, Iran must immediately stop and reverse all activities inconsistent with its obligations," the Foreign Office's statement said. "We are co-ordinating with other JCPOA participants regarding the next steps under the terms of the deal, including a joint commission."
France, in its turn also demanded that Iran honor commitments it made under the 2015 deal with six world powers, a spokesperson for the French Foreign Ministry said Sunday.
"We strongly demand that Iran put an end to all activities that do not conform with its commitments under the JCPOA. France is in contact with its partners to engage in the necessary de-escalation of tensions," the spokesperson said.
Reaction of the european countries comes hours after Russia's Permanent Representative to Int'l Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov called on Iran to refrain from steps that would complicate the situation around the nuclear deal.
Tehran announced earlier in the day that the country's enrichment of uranium would surpass 3.6% "in a few hours", which is above the limit set under the 2015 nuclear deal. The country has also vowed to reduce its commitments to the nuclear deal every 60 days if the issue is not resolved.
The announcement was made nearly a week after the country's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said that Tehran would enrich its uranium beyond the 3.67 per cent level, outlined in the 2015 nuclear deal, and it will maintain enrichment at a level that it considers necessary.
On 8 May, Iran announced that it was partially discontinuing its obligations under the JCPOA and urged nuclear deal signatories — China, the European Union, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom to shield Tehran from Washington's sanctions.
Iran's move comes a year after US President Donald Trump unilaterally left the 2015 nuclear deal, reimposed sanctions against Tehran and has been imposing more restrictive measures.