Iran has resumed 20% uranium enrichment at its underground Fordow nuclear facility, the government spokesman told the semi-official Mehr news agency on Monday, a level of purity that is not allowed under Tehrans 2015 nuclear pact with six major powers. The move is the latest of several recent Iranian breaches of the deal, which it started violating in 2019 in retaliation for Washingtons withdrawal from the agreement and the reimposition of US sanctions against Tehran. "A few minutes ago, the process of producing 20% enriched uranium has started in Fordow enrichment complex," Ali Rabeie told Mehr. On Jan 1, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Tehran had told the watchdog it planned to resume enrichment up to 20% at Fordow site, which is buried inside a mountain. Monday’s move comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the US in the waning days of the administration of President Donald Trump, who unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal in 2018. That set in motion an escalating series of incidents capped by a US drone strike that killed a top Iranian general in Baghdad a year ago. Irans decision to begin enriching to 20% a decade ago nearly brought an Israeli strike targeting its nuclear facilities, tensions that only abated with the 2015 atomic deal. A resumption of 20% enrichment could see that brinksmanship return.