Tehran, May 9 (RHC)-- Iran has announced it will stop complying with parts of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal and resume high-level enrichment of uranium in 60 days if other signatories of the deal do not take action to shield Iran’s oil and and banking sectors from U.S. sanctions.  This comes one year after the Donald Trump administration pulled out of the nuclear deal. 

In a speech delivered on Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Iran wants to stay in the nuclear deal but that it is rolling back its commitments due to Washington’s actions.  In the short term, Rouhani said Iran would stop exporting excess uranium and heavy water from its nuclear program.

Hassan Rouhani said: “The Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action, the JCPOA, is here and it remains in place.  But today we have shown the flipside of the JCPOA coin.  This is the same [nuclear deal] that states if the other parties are failing to meet their obligations, then we can also reduce our obligations in the deal.  Today, we are announcing a reduction of our obligations under the deal. We are not leaving the [nuclear deal].”

Russia responded by blaming the United States for provoking Iran into rolling back the terms of the nuclear deal.  The Iranian-American author Trita Parsi said: “Trump has initiated a chain reaction that will make America and the world less safe.”