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Iran set for 'extraordinary' breach of nuclear deal commitments

Iran says it is gearing up to take a crucial step toward further reducing its compliance with the nuclear deal, as officials see no immediate tangible outcome from talks with the European signatories to the accord.
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Abbas Araghchi (R) speaks as the head of the country's Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, listens during a nuclear deal review meeting in Tehran August 9, 2015. Dozens of companies tied to Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards, a military force commanding a powerful industrial empire with huge political influence, will win sanctions relief under a nuclear deal agreed with world powers. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/TIMA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIR

Iranian officials are reporting little progress with negotiators representing the European sides to the nuclear deal, as the Sept. 6 deadline set by Tehran looms large. Iran has already warned that if the ongoing talks bear no fruit, it will suspend more commitments it has honored since 2015 under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

President Hassan Rouhani, whose government has been scrambling to salvage the accord after the United States abandoned it last May, said the new measures will be "extremely important." Addressing a Cabinet meeting in Tehran Sept. 4, Rouhani warned that the "third step" will see the Iranian nuclear program proceed with an "extraordinary accelerated" pace.

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