Democratic presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on Tuesday commented on Iran’s decision to restart uranium enrichment at the Fordow underground plant.
In a post on Twitter, Warren criticized US President Donald Trump for withdrawing from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and called for a resumption of diplomacy vis-à-vis Iran.
“Iran’s decision to restart enrichment at Fordow is deeply concerning. Before Donald Trump ripped it up, the Iran Deal was working. We must return to serious diplomacy with allies to constrain Iran’s nuclear program and de-escalate the crisis,” she wrote.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani declared earlier on Tuesday that Iran would move forward quickly with gas injection at the Fordow Fuel Enrichment plant outside of the city of Qom, beginning Wednesday. A total of 1,044 centrifuges will be injected with uranium gas.
Hours after Rouhani’s announcement, the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran declared that his country would enrich uranium to 5% at the Fordow nuclear facility, in a further violation of the 2015 nuclear deal it signed with world powers.
Trump withdrew from the 2015 deal, which was negotiated during the Obama administration, last May. Since that time, his administration has ramped up the sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
In response to the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal and its imposition of sanctions, Iran has gradually scaled back its compliance with the 2015 deal.
Warren is one of several Democrats to have criticized Trump for withdrawing from the deal. Former Vice President Joe Biden, one of Warren’s challenger for the Democratic presidential nomination, last June described Trump’s policy regarding Iran is a "self-inflicted disaster" that could push the United States towards war
Former Secretary of State John Kerry, who negotiated the deal, also warned against a war with Iran as a result of Trump leaving the agreement.