Iran tells UN it will hike uranium enrichment capacity

Iran tells the UN nuclear watchdog that it will increase its nuclear enrichment capacity within the limits set by the 2015 agreement with world powers.

Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesman for Iran’s nuclear agency, is quoted by state TV as saying a letter was submitted to the International Atomic Energy Agency detailing the move.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had ordered the increase in a speech yesterday, in which he vowed that the country would preserve its nuclear program despite the US withdrawal from the landmark 2015 accord.

Iran has said it has the option of resuming industrial-scale enrichment now that the US has withdrawn from the deal.

— AP