Iran abandons 2015 nuclear deal amid growing tensions with US

Tehran: As rift deepens between Iran and the United States after the latter killed Iran`s senior military commander Qassem Soleimani, Tehran on Sunday announced that it was abandoning its last obligation under the 2015 nuclear deal which is to limit the number to centrifuges.

"By taking the fifth step in reducing its obligations, Iran is abandoning the last key practical limitation under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which is dealing with the number of centrifuges," the Iranian government in a statement said.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, an agreement between Iran and P5+1 with European Union, was signed in 2015. Under the agreement, Iran agreed to limit its sensitive nuclear activities and allow in international inspectors in return for the lifting of economic sanctions. 

Under the JCPOA, Tehran was limited to installing no more than 5,060 of the oldest and least efficient centrifuges at Natanz until 2026.

In 2018, US President Donald Trump had withdrawn from the deal, terming it as defective at its core. It also imposed sanctions on Iran targeting the nation oil market and business sector. Following which, Iran vowed to reduce compliance to the accord.

In August last year, the United Nations said that Iran was exceeding limitation set by the deal and was increasing its stock of enriched uranium and refining it to greater purity than allowed in the agreement.

Since Trump announced withdrawal from the deal, Tehran and Washington are engaged in the war of words and have also been involved in carrying out attacks to infuriate each other. Washington designated Iran`s elite force Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation.

Meanwhile, Iran has also targeted the United States allies and people. In a predawn air raid in at Iraq`s Baghdad airport on January 3, the US struck and killed Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran`s elite Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the deputy commander of Iran-backed militias known as the Popular Mobilisation Forces, or PMF.