Europe is playing a dangerous game with Iran over its nuclear arms

When Iran starts to breach its side of a landmark nuclear deal it does not immediately spell the death of this hard-fought, multi-national agreement.

Tehran, like the other five remaining signatories, does not want the accord to die even though President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from it last year, saying he did not think it went far enough to curb what Washington sees as Iran's malign activities.

But the Tehran is using the imminent busting of limits on the amount of enriched uranium it can stockpile and the level to which its uranium can be enriched as a tool of leverage.

Enriched uranium is material that is used in nuclear weapons.

Iran wants to exert pressure on the European parties to the pact - Britain, France and Germany - to offset the economic pain being inflicted on the country by US sanctions, which were re-imposed following the US departure from the agreement.

Tehran agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and other nuclear-related activities as part of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in return for sanctions relief.

But officials argue that their compliance should be less because the benefits they are seeing from the deal are significantly less following the US withdrawal.

It is a policy of "less for less" but it is an idea strongly rejected by London, Paris and Berlin.

They see the nuclear deal as it stands as the best way to curb Tehran's ability to develop nuclear weapons - the Tehran insists its nuclear programme is purely peaceful.

The European side has been urgently warning Tehran not to make good on its threat to violate the deal.

This pressure may have had a limited effect.

The first Iranian breach on the 300kg stockpile limit of low enriched uranium had been threatened for Thursday but did not happen, though officials say they believe it could still happen over the weekend.

Yet more breaches are set for July.

Britain, France and Germany have been working since the start of the year on a new trading mechanism, finally launched on Friday, which is aimed at boosting trade between Europe and Iran without European companies falling foul of US sanctions.

There was a hope this would be seen by Iran as evidence of their continued commitment to keeping the nuclear deal alive despite escalating tensions between the US - traditionally a European ally - and Iran.

But this mechanism is relatively modest and will initially fall well short of offsetting the economic impact of Washington's actions.

Iran's envoy to a meeting of the remaining signatories to the nuclear accord on Friday reportedly said European countries had offered too little to persuade Tehran to change course.

This is a dangerous gamble at a time of crisis.

Minor breaches can be absorbed by various compliance related mechanisms built into the text of the nuclear agreement.

But it is an escalatory step that will make it harder and harder for European countries to keep supporting the deal.

Ultimately, Iran's actions could end up turning Britain, France and Germany against the deal.

Up until now, they have sided with Tehran, leaving Washington looking unusually isolated.

China and Russia - the other two signatories to the deal - would most likely side with Iran against the West should the accord collapse altogether.

This would end up creating a new and even graver fault line for global tensions and potential conflict.