Iran Increases Uranium Enrichment with an Eye to the U.S. Presidential Election

The International Atomic Energy Agency today will confirm that Iran has surpassed the 3.67% uranium enrichment cap established by the JCPOA. Megan Specia in "Iran Says It Has Surpassed Critical Nuclear Enrichment Level in 2015 Deal" quotes the busy spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Geng Shuang, at a news conference today:

“The U.S. side not only unilaterally withdrew from the agreement but also created more and more obstacles for Iran and other parties to implement the agreement through unilateral sanctions and long-armed jurisdiction,” he said. “It has been proven that unilateral bullying has become a worsening ‘tumor’ and is creating more problems and greater crises on a global scale.”

Specia also reports this nugget regarding the Iranian oil tanker seized by the UK:

A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Abbas Mousavi, said that the vessel had not been bound for Syria as British officials had suggested, Iranian state media reported.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, said the seizure of the ship set a “dangerous precedent” in a Twitter post on Monday. Using the derogatory label “B Team” to refer to President Trump’s advisers and some allies, Mr. Zarif said Iran was not subject to the European sanctions on Syria, as it is not part of the European Union.

“UK’s unlawful seizure of a tanker with Iranian oil on behalf of #B_Team is piracy, pure and simple,” he wrote.

Chomsky, in a talk recorded months ago, mentions how extraterritorialty as practiced by the United States has become so normalized that we no longer even pay attention to it. It's the assumed doctrine of "global capitalism in one country."

Iran has increased the enrichment level of its uranium with an eye to the calendar.

Trump is boxed by the fast-approaching election year. The prospect of a war against Iran is enormously unpopular with voters. If Trump launches such a war in the next year, he's a one-term president. So Iran is basically calling the question.

Europe as presently constituted is incapable of leading. Iran will not negotiate with the United States until it rescinds its sanctions, something, as we have seen in relation to North Korea, Trump will not do. So we're stuck with the status quo, which is an ever-expanding list of provocations.