Warning over Iran’s progress on nuclear weapons

IRAN NEEDS only five days to ramp up its uranium enrichment to 20 per cent, a level at which the material could quickly be further enriched for use in a nuclear weapon, the Islamic Republic’s atomic chief has warned.

The comments by Ali Akbar Salehi to Iranian state television come as US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to renegotiate or walk away from the 2015 nuclear deal.

Mr Salehi’s warning, along with recent comments by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, show Iran is willing to push back against Mr Trump while still acknowledging they want to keep the deal, which lifted crippling economic sanctions.

“If there is a plan for a reaction and a challenge, we will definitely surprise them,” said Mr Salehi, who also serves as one of Mr Rouhani’s vice presidents.

“If we make the determination, we are able to resume 20 per centenrichment 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 per cent-enriched uranium as part of the nuclear deal it struck with world powers, including Mr Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama. The accord, which lifted sanctions on Iran, currently caps the Islamic Republic uranium enrichment at five per cent.

While Iran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, uranium enriched to 20 per cent and above can be used in nuclear bombs.

Iran processed its stockpile of near-20 per cent 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.