Iran steps further back from JCPOA

Iran announced a further rollback of its commitments to the international nuclear accord amid anger over the U.S. killing of a top commander.

The Tehran government said it would forego the "limit on the number of centrifuges" it had pledged to honour in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

"Iran's nuclear programme no longer faces any limitation in the operational field", said the statement.

This extends to Iran's capacity for enriching uranium, the level of enrichment carried out, the amount enriched, and other research and development, it said.

"As of now Iran's nuclear programme will continue solely based on its technical needs," the AFP cited the statement as saying.

However, Tehran said it would continue cooperating "as before" with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN’s nuclear watchdog.

Iran also said it would once again comply with the terms of the 2015 agreement if the U.S. does so too by lifting the sanctions that are crippling the Iranian economy.