As Iran continues with its enrichment of uranium for civilian purposes,
the nation is running up on a cap on the size of the stockpile that was
meant to be in effect when the P5+1 deal first went into effect. Exactly
when Iran runs into the cap is unclear, but US hawks seems positively to be salivating about the possibility.
US officials, and US media, are eagerly calling this a “breach,” and
talking about a new round of sanctions to punish Iran. The more likely
turn of events is that literally nothing will happen.
Since the US already dishonored the P5+1 deal, the stockpile caps became
voluntary, and Iran has made clear that, barring more serious efforts
at sanctions relief, they don’t intend to stay in voluntary compliance.
While the US is trying to present this as vindication, the reality is that no one who is still involved in the P5+1 deal considers this a real violation,
nor a reason to end the deal. Indeed, the only reason it is happening
at all is because of what the US has done, and this is just a
continuation of the US move complicating matters.
The only real danger of all of this is that the US will use the “breach” as a pretext
for more hostile action against Iran. Since the US takes hostile
actions against Iran on a regular basis either way, however, it’s
probably not a major change in that regard either, and just a
continuation of the unsettled status quo.
Iran was selling the enriched uranium fuel. The US prohibited the sales. Now the US says that not selling it is a violation. Obviously the US wants Iran to voluntarily give up enrichment, a key part of the deal being that they did not need to give it up. They do it for reactor fuel and for medical isotopes. The medical isotopes in particular are important, because the US won’t let them buy those either, and they have a half life of just weeks. So they must be made locally.
It matters because the US will use this for more propaganda to brainwash the (already brainwashed) US electorate that Iran is the “aggressor”.
Then later, once the war starts, the US will use that argument as one of a litany of excuses as to why the war was “necessary” – just like they used the bogus excuses about Saddam being in bed with Al Qaeda, and Saddam being a “bad guy” once the Iraq war turned sour.
This is why all propaganda works and why it’s important never to give an enemy like the US any talking points at all. Of course, if you don’t give them talking points, they’ll make some up anyway. But it’s important not to make it easy for them.