France, Germany and the UK jointly expressed concerns over Iran’s decision “to produce uranium metal”, asserting that it had “no credible civilian use” and “potentially grave military implications”. “Under the JCPOA”, they noted, “Iran committed to not engaging in production of uranium metal or conducting research and development on uranium metallurgy for 15 years”. The E3 further called on “Iran to halt this activity, and return to compliance with its JCPOA commitments without further delay if it is serious about preserving the deal”. Iran’s diplomatic spokesperson subsequently maintained that “this technology is a necessity for Iran… based on humanitarian and peaceful grounds”.