Germany, France and the United Kingdom have criticized legislation passed by the Iranian parliament that calls for boosting Iran’s nuclear activities, and called on Tehran to give up the plans to install centrifuges in contravention of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

“If Iran is serious about preserving a space for diplomacy, it must not implement these steps,” the statement, issued on Monday morning [December 7] from the so-called ‘E3’ said. “Such a move would jeopardize our shared efforts to preserve the JCPOA and risks compromising the important opportunity for a return to diplomacy with the incoming US Administration. A return to the JCPOA would also be beneficial for Iran.”

The new bill ratified by the Iranian parliament, and contested by the government of President Hassan Rouhani, requires Iran to extend uranium enrichment and reduce access of United Nations nuclear inspectors if international sanctions against Iran were not eased within two months. Since US President Donald Trump in 2018 abandoned US commitments under the JCPOA and imposed draconian sanctions against Iran, Tehran has taken a number of steps expanding its nuclear program beyond JCPOA limits: these include enriching to 4.5 percent, increasing its stockpile of enriched fuel, and installing the more advanced IR2 centrifuges, the device used for enriching uranium.

Iran wrote to the International Atomic Energy Agency on December 2 informing it of its intention to install hundreds more IR2 centrifuges. Its letter was revealed in an IAEA report leaked to Reuters, who broke the story on December 4.

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s ambassador to the IAEA, complained on Twitter  on December 4 that “the confidential report, based on Iran's confidential letter, [had] appeared in Media immediately even before the [IAEA] Board of Governors members could track it down. The Agency is not merely responsible to update the development, but shall ensure confidentiality of safeguards information.” Gharibababi suggested that if neither the IAEA nor its members states were responsible for the leak, then the IAEA should “revise its confidentiality mechanism.”

In Tehran the Kayhan newspaper, a long-time critic of the JCPOA, welcomed Iran’s plan to install more IR2 centrifuges as “the end of unilateral concessions.” The E3 has since 2018 called on both the US and Iran to abide by their commitments under the JCPOA: both the incoming administration of US President-elect and Rouhani have expressed support for returning to the agreement.