PARIS: Russia and France on Thursday urged Iran to show restraint after it started producing uranium metal in a new breach of limits laid out in Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.

The UN’s nuclear watchdog in Vienna reported that Iran has started producing uranium metal in defiance of a 2015 deal with world powers on which ex-US president Donald Trump sensationally reneged in 2018.

The move came as Iran warned that time was running out for new US president Joe Biden’s administration to save the agreement from collapse. Iran ally Russia expressed sympathy for Tehran’s position. France also warned Iran against any further escalation of its row with the West, which it hopes Biden will help resolve.