Iran increases uranium enrichment purity beyond 3.67 pct: official

Iran announced on Sunday that it is raising the purity of its enriched uranium beyond limits of the 2015 landmark nuclear deal.

Iran's government spokesman Ali Rabiei, left, and Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, attend a meeting in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, July 7, 2019. [Photo: IC]

"Today, we will start enriching uranium beyond 3.67 percent, and its level of purity depends on our needs. This will happen officially," Ali Rabiee, the spokesman for Iranian government, said in a live broadcast from state TV.

On Sunday, the Spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi also confirmed the rise of the purity of uranium enrichment from current 3.67 percent to the level that "meets the needs of fuel for Iran's power plants."

According to Press TV, Iran needs five-percent uranium enrichment for its Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant and 20-percent enrichment for Tehran research reactor.

A year after the U.S. unilateral exit from the nuclear deal, Iran withdrew from part of the nuclear deal on May 8 and threatened more actions in case its interests under the pact cannot be guaranteed.

At that time, Iran set a 60-day deadline, until July 7, for the Europeans to help the Islamic republic reap the economic benefits of the deal.

However, Iran said that the Europeans have failed to take "practical" steps to ensure Iran's economic interests under the deal.

Earlier this week, Iran announced that its low-grade enriched uranium stockpile had exceeded 300 kg, its first breach of limits set in the accord.