Iraq News Now

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.