Arak reactor to resume pre-deal activities if EU fails to meet pledges: Rouhani

As of July 7, the Arak reactor would be restored to its former condition, which they (other parties) used to claim was 'dangerous' and could produce plutonium" if the other deal partners fail to fully act on their commitments under the accord, Rouhani said at a Wednesday cabinet meeting.

The agreement was initially reached between the P5+1 group of states - the United States, the UK, France, Russia, and China plus Germany - and Iran in Vienna in July 2015. It is officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to redesign the 40-megawatt research reactor, which is located in the central Iranian Markazi Province, to cut its potential output of plutonium.

Rouhani said Iran's decision concerning the reactor could only be reversed "if they (the other signatories) act on all of their commitments concerning the facility."

The fate of the deal has been in doubt since last May, when the US pulled out and reinstated the anti-Iran sanctions that it had lifted under the document.

Bowing to Washington's pressure, Europe has been throwing only verbal support behind the agreement ever since, refusing to guarantee the Islamic Republic's business interests in the face of American bans despite being contractually obliged to do so.

The decision concerning the reactor is among the countermeasures, which Iran began this May in reaction to the US's withdrawal and the other parties' failure to keep their side of the agreement.

Rouhani further said Iran would, in addition, surpass the limit placed by the nuclear agreement on the level of purity of the uranium it produces when the July 7 deadline set by Tehran for the remaining deal partners expires.

Source: PressTV