Iran has started to
enrich uranium to 20% purity in its Fordow facility, AFP reported Iranian state
media as notifying on Monday.

The move pushes the
threshold well beyond what the nuclear deal allowed the West Asian nation to work
with in 2015.

Also read: US aircraft carrier to stay in Gulf: Pentagon

“The process
for producing 20 percent enriched uranium has started at Shahid Alimohammadi
enrichment complex (Fordow),” AFP quoted government spokesperson Ali
Rabiei as saying on the website of the state broadcaster.

Rabiei further claimed
that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for the enrichment process to begin
“in recent days”, and that the gas injection process started hours before his
statement.

The process follows
a bill from the Conservative-dominated Iranian parliament last month, which
gave the Rouhani-government a right to “produce and store 120 kilogrammes
(265 pounds) per year of uranium enriched to 20 percent”, actively seeking
to resist against “lifting of sanctions” as well as protecting the interests of
the Iranian citizens.

Also read: Iran government executes three for ‘terrorist acts’ and murder

The law, furthermore,
calls for an end to the United Nation’s inspection of the facilities if the
other parties to the 2015 deal – Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany –
do not facilitate the country’s oil sales and ensure the return of the
proceeds.

Iranian officials,
including Foreign Minister Zaved Jarif, has stated that the government will be
following the parliament’s decision, as the latter in recent times has indicated
its active stance towards a negotiation with president-elect Joe Biden after spending
four tense years under incumbent President Donald Trump, who forced one
crippling sanction after another on Tehran.