Iran could boost its uranium enrichment to 90%, weapons-grade level, and consider exiting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if European powers move to trigger the UN snapback sanctions mechanism, Tasnim News reported on Tuesday.
The report came as France said it would trigger the UN snapback mechanism against Iran by the end of August if no tangible progress is made on a nuclear deal.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said Tuesday that Iran has violated its commitments under the 2015 agreement and that France, the United Kingdom, and Germany, known as the E3, are justified in reapplying global embargoes on arms, banks, and nuclear equipment. “Without a firm, tangible, and verifiable commitment from Iran, we will do so by the end of August at the latest,” Barrot told reporters in Brussels.
In response, Tasnim warned that Iran could raise uranium enrichment from 60% to 90%, and may use its enriched uranium stockpile for what it called “non-prohibited military purposes.”
The outlet also said that while exiting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) would be a major step, it remains one of several options Iran is considering.
Snapback seen as 'military aggression' by Iranian officials
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi last week warned that triggering the snapback would be viewed by Iran as equivalent to a military strike. “This move would mark the end of Europe’s role in Iran’s peaceful nuclear file,” he said, calling it a “historic mistake” that could irreversibly damage ties.
Tasnim echoed that view, saying that the US strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, combined with European inaction, have shifted Tehran’s strategy from "political patience to strategic deterrence".
Iran may expand nuclear activity, restrict IAEA oversight
In its report, Tasnim said Iran "should halt dilution of 60% enriched uranium, accelerate advanced centrifuge deployment, expand research into uranium metal production, and scale back cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)."
“These responses are lawful and proportionate,” the outlet said, while warning that Tehran would not accept any further Western pressure without consequences.
Pouria Pourhossein Hendabad, 29, was arrested on June 22 in Baton Rouge, where he was pursuing a PhD in mechanical engineering at Louisiana State University. He and his wife, Parisa Firouzabadi, were detained after reporting a car accident. According to his lawyers, officers posing as state police lured the couple out of their home and handed them over to a waiting team of ICE agents in tactical gear.
He had a valid student visa through 2030 and faced no known criminal charges. His attorneys called the arrest “an unconstitutional ruse,” and said it was carried out without a warrant or legal justification.
On Monday, Magistrate Judge Joseph H.L. Perez-Montes ordered his immediate release and barred the government from deporting or transferring him, citing a “grave risk” of irreparable harm.
Part of a growing pattern
Pourhosseinhendabad’s case is the latest in a string of arrests of Iranian students and nationals in the US this year.
In March, Alireza Doroudi, a PhD student at the University of Alabama, was arrested by ICE without formal charges and held for six weeks before choosing to self-deport.
His lawyers said the government admitted it had no evidence he posed a national security threat, but prolonged detention and pressure forced him to leave the country.
More than 130 Iranians arrested after US strikes
In late June, more than 130 Iranian nationals were detained across the country in a sweeping enforcement operation, according to Fox News. Federal officials said some had ties to the IRGC or Hezbollah, but many of those arrested, including students and recent immigrants, faced no public charges.