TEHERAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s atomic chief warned Tuesday the Islamic Republic needs only five days to ramp up its uranium enrichment to 20 percent, a level at which the material could be used for a nuclear weapon. Chief of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi, right, sits next to Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif after being awarded medal of honor by President Hassan Rouhani during a ceremony in Tehran, Iran. Iran’s atomic chief warned Tuesday the Islamic Republic needs only five days to ramp up its uranium enrichment to 20 percent, a level at which the material could be used for a nuclear weapon, writes Associated Press.
Migt Walk from Deal
The comments by Ali Akbar Salehi to Iranian state television come as U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly has threatened to renegotiate or walk away from the 2015 nuclear deal. Salehi’s warning, along with recent comments by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, show Iran is willing to push back against Trump while still acknowledgingmthey want to keep the deal, which lifted crippling economic sanctions on the country.
«If there is a plan for a reaction and a challenge, we will definitely surprise them,» said Salehi, who also serves as one of Rouhani’s vice presidents. «If we make the determination, we are able to resume 20 percent-enrichment in at most five days.» He added: «Definitely, we are not interested in such a thing happening. We have not achieved the deal easily to let it go easily. We are committed to the deal and we are loyal to it.» Iran gave up the majority of its stockpile of 20- percent enriched uranium as part of the nuclear deal it struck with world powers, including Trump’s predecessor, President Barack Obama. The accord, which lifted sanctions on Iran, currently caps the Islamic Republic uranium enrichment at 5 percent.
Nuclear Programme
While Iran long has maintained its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, uranium enriched to 20 percent and above can be used in nuclear bombs. Iran processed its stockpile of near 20 percent uranium into a lower enrichment, turned some into fuel plates to power a research reactor and shipped the rest to Russia as part of the deal. Rouhani, a moderate cleric within Iran’s theocratically overseen government, warned last week that it could ramp up its nuclear program and quickly achieve a more advanced level if the U.S. continues «threats and sanctions» against his country.Rouhani’s comments were sparked by Trump signing a sanctions bill imposing mandatory penalties on people involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program and anyone who does business with them. The U.S. legislation also applies terrorism sanctions to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and enforces an existing arms embargo. Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report from Ap.
