The United States has officially reacted to Iran's recent announcement about boosting uranium enrichment level and increasing enriched uranium stockpiles, stressing that "there is no reason for Iran to expand its nuclear program,"
A statement released by the United States at the emergency meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors' meeting in Vienna on Wednesday July 10 called Iran's breach of the 2015 nuclear deal with the West "a crude and transparent attempt to extort payments from the international community."
The emergency meeting of IAEA board of governors has been held at the request of the United States after Iran announced that it will gradually suspend some of its obligations under the nuclear deal also called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Meanwhile, the United States' statement warned that "Iran is isolating itself," while at the same time repeating that Washington is "open to negotiation without preconditions, and that is offering Iran the possibility of a full normalization of relations."
The U.S. statement further called on Iran " to reverse its recent nuclear steps and cease any plans for further advancements in the future."
Iran has announced that it will enrich Uranium beyond the 3.67 percent level agreed in the JCPOA, and that it will no longer abide by the 300 kilogram limit on its enriched Uranium stockpile.
Tehran has also threatened that it might increase enrichment level to 20 percent by September. This will reduce the time needed by Tehran to make a nuclear bomb from one year to 2 to 3 months.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has said that Iran will stop fulfilling its commitments to JCPOA in an increasing manner .
He added that "It is laughable that the United States calls for an emergency IAEA meeting because it has suspended some of its obligations while Washington has pulled out of the deal altogether."
Reports from Vienna say that IAEA Chief Yukia Amano briefed the 35 members of the IAEA board of governors on the situation. The IAEA had earlier confirmed that Iran has breached the enrichment level and stockpile limits stated in the nuclear deal.
Meanwhile U.S. representative to IAEA, Jackie Wollcott, has called Iran's new measures "nuclear blackmail" and asked IAEA member states not to reward Iran for misbehaving.
Ambassador Wollcott also repeated that although the nuclear agreement has not been effective, the United States is prepared for negotiations with Iran without any preconditions.
U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out of the nuclear agreement with Iran in May 2018 and re-imposed the sanctions that were lifted after Iran agreed to the deal in 2015.
Washington has said that it is after a comprehensive deal with Tehran that would also limit Iran's ballistic missile program and its interventions in the region.
Tehran states that the reduction of its obligations under the JCPOA is in reaction to U.S. economic pressures and Europe's failure to help Iran reduce the impact of U.S. sanctions.
International news agencies have said that they do not expect any particular result from Wednesday's meeting of the IAEA board of governors.