The US-Iran stand-off has been going on for a while now. Things have escalated ever since Trump imposed fresh sanctions on the country and Iran retaliated by saying, unless the sanctions were removed, they would stockpile the uranium threshold to more than 300kg limit.
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Senior officials from Iran and the remaining signatories to its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers are gathering in Vienna Friday as tensions in the Persian Gulf simmer and Tehran is poised to surpass a uranium stockpile threshold, posing a threat to the accord.
This brings together senior officials from Iran, France, Germany, Britain, Russia, China and the European Union. And these representatives are meant to, discuss implementation of the deal.
The meeting comes in two days after Iran Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iranians will not budge or change their stand following new US sanctions. The European nations want for Iran to comply in full with the accord.
But Iranian officials maintain that they would not be breaching the deal, technically, even if it surpasses the limit, and that such a move could be reversed quickly.
The Europeans are up against a July 7 deadline set by Tehran to offer relief from US sanctions, or Iran says it will also begin enriching its uranium closer to weapons-grade levels.
The sanctions followed Iran's downing last week of a US surveillance drone, worth over USD 100 million, over the Strait of Hormuz, sharply escalating the crisis. The drone, according to Iranian officials, violated its territory, whereas, US maintained that it was in international airspace.
"The Iranian nation will not budge and will not withdraw because of the insults," Khamenei had said.