The White House on Monday issued a
warning to Iran after the country announced it surpassed limits on
enriched uranium under the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
“Maximum
pressure on the Iranian regime will continue until its leaders alter their
course of action,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a
statement. “The regime must end its nuclear ambitions and its malign behavior.”
Tehran said
hours earlier it had exceeded the amount of low-enriched uranium it is
allowed to stockpile under the Obama-era deal, from which President
Trump withdrew the U.S. last year.
The
move was a bid to convince Europe, Russia and China to provide relief from U.S.
sanctions, but the statement is a signal that the president is not prepared to
back down and de-escalate tensions with Iran.
It
marked the first time that Iran breached the terms of the deal, but the White
House argued in a strangely worded phrase that “there is little doubt that even
before the deal’s existence, Iran was violating its terms.”
Administration
officials and Republican lawmakers have argued Tehran’s support for militant
groups and involvement in Middle East conflicts constitute violations of the
spirit of the pact.
Iran
agreed to cap its stockpile low-enriched uranium at 300 kilograms, one of
several restrictions on its nuclear activities, in exchange for lifting almost
all international sanctions. Iranian officials said they are violating the
terms of the deal because the U.S. withdrew and reimposed sanctions on
Tehran.