EU worried about Iran enrichment, aims to save nuclear accord

[January 05, 2021]    BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Tuesday it regretted that Iran has resumed 20% uranium enrichment at an underground nuclear facility, breaching a 2015 nuclear pact, but believed that the accord was worth saving.

A general view of the United Nations complex, the Vienna International Centre, in Vienna, Austria, December 16, 2020. REUTERS/Lisi Niesner

"We are highly concerned by the measures taken by Iran. This action is in breach of Iran's nuclear commitments and will have serious implications," a spokesman for the Commission told a regular briefing. "It is regrettable but it is also highly important and ... that we maintain the agreement," he said.

The move is the latest Iranian contravention of the accord,which it started violating in 2019 in response to Washington'swithdrawal from the agreement in 2018 and the re-imposition ofU.S. sanctions that had been lifted under the deal.

(Reporting by Robin Emmott)

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