Iran’s parliament has approved plans to dramatically increase its nuclear enrichment program in contravention of its agreement with global powers as the Islamic regime reels from the aftermath of the assassination of the mastermind of its alleged military program. Last week’s killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the Islamic republic’s top nuclear scientist, has escalated tensions in a difficult period ahead of the US presidential transition.

In a sign of the deep divisions between the hardliners in parliament and moderates, the centrist government of President Hassan Rouhani immediately opposed the move. Centrists say such a move could harm their chances of resuming talks with the US.

President-elect Joe Biden is keen to restart talks over the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and global powers that President Donald Trump abandoned in 2018. Mr Trump’s reimposition of sanctions against Iran prompted the republic to boost its nuclear activities. Mr Biden has promised to go back to the deal provided Iran returns to full compliance. Iran has blamed Israel, which opposes the resumption of talks, for the assassination. Speculation has been rife as to how Iran will react. As part of the plan put forward in parliament, the Islamic republic is to enrich uranium up to 20 percent purity, higher than the current purity of up to 4-5 percent and in violation of the 3.67 percent level permitted under the nuclear accord. The plan also says Iran should keep 120kg of it at home for “the country’s needs for peaceful purposes”.

That level of enrichment would accelerate the country’s ability to produce weapons-grade uranium of 90 percent, a development the nuclear accord — signed by the US under Barack Obama, Germany, the UK, France, China, and Russia — aimed to prevent. The parliament’s new measures, if implemented, will largely put Iran back to where it was before the deal.