TEHRAN, 02 December 2020, (TON): Iranian Parliament on Tuesday approved a bill that would suspend UN inspections of its nuclear facilities and require the government to boost its uranium enrichment if European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal do not provide relief from oil and banking sanctions.

The bill has been introduced to show of defiance after the killing of a prominent Iranian nuclear scientist Fakhrizadeh last month and the approval of the bill requires endorsement by the Guardian Council.  

The bill would give European countries one month to ease sanctions on Iran’s key oil and gas sector, and to restore its access to the international banking system. The U.S. imposed crippling sanctions on Iran after President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear agreement, triggering a series of escalations between the two sides.

The bill, if approved, would allow the authorities resume enriching uranium to 20%, which is below the threshold needed for nuclear weapons but higher than that required for civilian applications. It would also commission new centrifuges at nuclear facilities at Natanz and the underground Fordo site.