MNA � Government spokesperson Ali Rabiei said Iran�s move to increase the level of uranium enrichment over the 3.67% limit is according to the country�s economic needs and is of a �deeply peaceful� nature.

�Increasing the level of enrichment is in line with our needs for economic development and is of a deeply peaceful nature,� Government spokesperson Ali Rabiei said in a tweet after Iran announced further reductions to JCPOA commitments as its 60-day deadline for the European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal expired.

In the second stage, Iran said it would increase the purity of its enriched uranium, no longer sticking to the 3.67% limit it had agreed to in the deal.

Rabiei went on to add, �the Leader�s fatwa on a decisive ban on all shapes and forms of weapons of mass destruction at all stages (possession, storage and proliferation) serves as our guideline. Iran, based on this fatwa, is at the front line of making efforts for a Middle East and a world free from nuclear weapons.�