Sabotage, enrichment cast shadow over new Iran nuclear talks

VIENNA • Talks to save the Iran nuclear deal have resumed in Vienna amid new tensions, with Teheran preparing to ramp up uranium enrichment in response to an attack on a facility it blamed on Israel.

After a positive first round of negotiations aimed at reviving the 2015 pact scuttled by former US president Donald Trump, Iran's push towards enrichment levels needed for military use "puts pressure on everyone", a European diplomat told Agence France-Presse.

Teheran says the move is a response to Israel's "nuclear terrorism" after a blast on Sunday knocked out power at its Natanz enrichment plant. Israel has not confirmed or denied involvement, but public radio reports in the country said it was a sabotage operation by the Mossad spy agency, citing unnamed intelligence sources.

"It definitely complicates things," the diplomat said ahead of the talks involving the remaining members of the deal - Germany, France, the United Kingdom, China, Russia and Iran.

But recent events have also "reminded both parties that the status quo is a lose-lose situation", and have "added urgency" to the talks, said Dr Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group (ICG) think-tank.

Britain, France and Germany have expressed "grave concern" over the most recent enrichment move, while also rejecting "all escalatory measures by any actor".

China and Russia also strongly back the United States returning to the deal, believing it addresses the most pressing concerns with Iran.

Russia's representative in Vienna said the 2015 deal remained the "only viable solution which can bring the Iranian nuclear programme back to the agreed parameters".

But the Biden administration, while agreeing on the deal's value, has stressed it is waiting for Iran to first roll back steps away from compliance that it took to protest against Mr Trump's sanctions.

An American delegation is attending the talks "indirectly", staying at a separate hotel.

Washington is "very open-eyed about how this will be a long process", White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday. "It's happening through indirect discussions, but we still feel it is a step forward."

In the meantime, Teheran is reducing its "breakout time" - the time to acquire the fissile material necessary for the manufacture of a bomb - said the European diplomat. Under the pact, it had committed to keep enrichment to 3.67 per cent, though it stepped this up to 20 per cent in January.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said its inspectors visited the site at Natanz for "verification and monitoring activities" on Wednesday, and that Iran had "almost completed preparations" to enrich uranium to 60 per cent purity. Teheran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful.

Iran's Foreign Minister, Mr Mohammad Javad Zarif, said the Natanz attack had unleashed a "dangerous spiral" and warned US President Joe Biden that the situation could only be contained by lifting the sanctions Mr Trump imposed. "No alternative. Not much time," he added.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE