Iran exceeds uranium enrichment limit

Iran increased its uranium enrichment level to 4.5 percent on Monday, fulfilling its threat to exceed the limit set by the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Behrouz Kamalvandi, a spokesman for Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, confirmed the increase to two semiofficial news agencies. The country announced last week it will also break the limit on the size of its low-enriched uranium stockpile. In exchange for relief from economic sanctions, the nuclear pact restricted Iran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium to 660 pounds, which is lower than the amount needed to produce a nuclear weapon. Prior to the deal, Iran had enrichment levels as high as 20 percent, closer to what is needed for weapons-grade uranium.

The pact started to fall apart last year after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States and reimposed sanctions on Iran. Iran set a Monday deadline for the remaining countries to offer new terms to offset the U.S. sanctions. “Iran better be careful,” Trump said on Sunday.

The German government said it was “extremely concerned,” and Britain warned Iran to “immediately stop and revise all activities” related to the deal.