Tehran escalates tension before talks with US

BEIRUT — Iran announced on Thursday the upcoming construction of a new enrichment site and a “significant” increase in its production of enriched uranium, exacerbating tensions over its nuclear program ahead of talks scheduled in Oman with the United States on Sunday.

At the same time, American media, including the New York Times and NBC News, reported that Israel, a close ally of the United States, seemed to be preparing an imminent attack against Iran, its sworn enemy.

The Iranian announcements were made shortly after the adoption by the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna of a resolution condemning Iran for “non-compliance” with its nuclear obligations.

Uranium enrichment is the main sticking point in discussions between Tehran and Washington, conducted via Oman's mediation, aimed at regulating Iran's nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions that cripple the country's economy.

Iran is the only non-nuclear-armed state enriching uranium at the high level of 60%, according to the IAEA. To make an atomic bomb, enrichment must be pushed to 90%.

The Western countries and Israel, considered by experts as the only nuclear power in the Middle East, accuse Iran of seeking to acquire a nuclear weapon. Tehran denies this, defending a right to nuclear energy for civilian purposes.

“The necessary orders have been given by the head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization [IAEO] to launch a new enrichment center in a secure location,” stated the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the IAEO.

“We are replacing all [the] first-generation machines with advanced sixth-generation machines” at the Fordo nuclear enrichment plant, south of Tehran, said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for the IAEO, adding that this means production “of enriched material will increase significantly.”

'Imminent threat'

Israel subsequently called on the international community for a “decisive response” against Tehran, whose actions it says constitute “an imminent threat to international security and stability.”

The Israeli state, which considers the Iranian nuclear program an existential threat, has repeatedly warned that it might attack nuclear sites in Iran. Iran has thus warned that it would respond to any Israeli strike against its nuclear sites by targeting Israel's “secret nuclear facilities.”

On Wednesday, it also threatened to strike U.S. military bases in the Middle East in the event of a conflict following a potential failure of negotiations with Washington.

President Donald Trump confirmed the relocation of American personnel to the region, which could become “a dangerous place.”

An American official stated that staff levels at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad had been reduced for security reasons. Washington also decided to restrict travel to Israel for U.S. government employees and their families.

In Vienna, the resolution drafted by London, Paris, and Berlin (members of the so-called E3 group) along with Washington, was approved by 19 countries out of 35, according to diplomatic sources.

It calls on Tehran to “urgently address the non-compliance” with commitments made under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons [NPT]. As it stands, the IAEA, a United Nations agency, “is not in a position to guarantee that Iran's nuclear program is exclusively peaceful.”

Despite this escalation, Oman's Foreign Minister, Badr Albusaidi, stated on X that “the 6th round of negotiations between Iran and the United States will be held in Muscat on Sunday, June 15,” confirming an Iranian announcement to this effect.

'Better without war'

Washington and Tehran, which have had no diplomatic relations since 1980, have been trying since April to reach an agreement, following the United States' withdrawal in 2018, under President Donald Trump's first term, from the nuclear deal reached in 2015 between international powers and Iran.

In a podcast of the New York Post, recorded Monday and aired Wednesday, Trump said he was “much less confident [than before] of reaching an agreement” with Iran.

The American president, who has several times threatened to militarily confront Iran if diplomacy fails, however, said it “would be better without war.”

The United States demands that Iran totally abandon uranium enrichment, which Tehran refuses, asserting it has the right under the NPT, of which it is a signatory.

After Washington's unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 agreement and the reinstatement of American sanctions against Iran, the country retaliated by abandoning certain obligations, notably accelerating uranium enrichment.

The 2015 agreement set the enrichment limit at 3.67%.