Iran threatens to resume nuclear programme if US does not honour deal

Iran’s foreign minister warned on Monday that his country will resume its nuclear programme at a higher level than it was before the international agreement if the US does not respect its commitment under the 2015 deal, state-owned news outlets have reported.

“If [the] US creates a situation whereby continuation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action would damage Tehran’s national interest,” explained Mohammad Javad Zarif, “then Iran is completely ready to come back to the situation it had prior to the JCPOA even more powerfully than before.”

Zarif pointed out that at the request of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the Iranian committee charged with overseeing the implementation of the agreement is doing its best. He stressed that his ministry and related departments are sending their reports to the committee in case violations of the agreement are observed, which would lead to response options being examined.

“With the efforts made by skilled Iranian scientists and experts,” the minister added, “we have succeeded [in making] operational the most advanced centrifuges, that were just an idea at the time of approving the JCPOA.” The centrifuges, he said, will enrich uranium 20 times faster and more efficiently. “The technical know-how has now been indigenised.”

Read: Iran suggests it is unwilling to honour nuclear deal

In a related comment, the Secretary-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, said that Tehran is committed to the implementation of the nuclear agreement.