Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has ordered the Atomic Energy Organization to press ahead with a phased reduction in the country's commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The reductions had begun in May, involving three different "steps," with the fourth in the works unless Iranian leaders are convinced that the European signatories to the nuclear deal abide by their part of the agreement and provide the promised economic relief.

“This reduction of commitments must continue with utmost precision and in full until we attain the desirable outcome,” Khamenei told a meeting of senior generals from the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Oct. 2.­

Iran has so far abandoned several commitments under three different deadlines: it upgraded its uranium enrichment to 4.5%, exceeding the 3.67% limit; it increased its stockpile of uranium beyond the 300-kilogram cap; and it expanded nuclear research and development projects restricted by the accord.

Details about the next breakout, expected on Nov. 7, continue to be held in secret, but according to widespread speculation, it deals with the possibility of enrichment near or above 20%. If accurate, the move could fuel worries among the JCPOA’s Western signatories that Iran has moved closer to producing nuclear weapons. Iran has persistently rejected allegations of pursuing such arms based on a religious ruling issued by Khamenei that forbids the country undertaking a nuclear weapons program.