French President Emmanuel Macron has described Iran’s latest scaling-back of its commitments to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal as “a profound shift.”
While speaking at a news conference at the end of a state visit to China, the French leader called Tehran’s decision “serious,” saying that he believed “for the first time, Iran has decided in an explicit and blunt manner to leave the JCPOA agreement”… “compared to their approach over these last few weeks.” Macron said he plans to “have discussions in the coming days with the Iranians,” but emphasized that “we must all collectively face the consequences.”
President Macron further noted that the Iranian move will force the international community to ratchet up pressure on the Islamic Republic, with the aim of forcing them to return to the JCPOA. “Now for us, the next few weeks will be dedicated on one hand to increasing pressure from everyone for Iran to return to this framework,” he said, “which must also be accompanied by the reduction of some sanctions to return to an overall balance in the JCPOA.”
The Islamic Republic’s Atomic Energy Organization announced that at midnight Wednesday October 6, enrichment production was increased to 5%. This, after having successfully injected uranium gas into 1,044 centrifuges at the Fordow nuclear installation. The process was conducted in the presence of inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency.