French President Emmanuel Macron condemned on Sunday the Iranian decision to enrich uranium above limits agreed upon in 2015, a move he qualified of "violation" of the agreement, an official of the presidency told Reuters. The French president reiterated the deadline of July 15 to resume dialogue between the parties, the official said, without elaborating on what would happen after that date. A French government source said the French government will not trigger the Iran nuclear deal's dispute resolution mechanism for now, instead giving itself one week to try to get all parties talking again after Iran decided to enrich uranium above limits agreed in 2015. "It's not an option at this moment," a source at President Emmanuel Macron's Elysee office said on Sunday. The dispute resolution mechanism could eventually lead to the reimposition of United Nations sanctions on Iran. Iran said on Sunday it will boost its uranium enrichment in a few hours above a cap set by a landmark 2015 nuclear deal, a move that could eventually culminate in the return of all international sanctions on Tehran. In a live news conference, senior Iranian officials said Tehran would keep reducing its commitments every 60 days, unless European signatories of the pact protect it from US sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump. "We are fully prepared to enrich uranium at any level and with any amount," said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman for Iran's Atomic Energy Organization. "In a few hours the technical process will come to an end and the enrichment beyond 3.67% will begin," referring to the limit set in the 2015 agreement. But Iran said it was willing to show flexibility. — Agencies
