Iran to ‘Act Appropriately’ If Trump Nixes JCPOA: AEOI Chief
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Ali Akbar Salehi said if US President Donald Trump tears up the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers, Iran will “act appropriately”.
Trump wants to tear up the deal and if that happens, Iran will "act appropriately”, Salehi said in an interview with Canada’s CBC News on Saturday.
He added that the Islamic Republic could quickly ramp its nuclear program back up if he does so.
"We can very easily snap back and go back … not only to where we were, but a much higher position technologically speaking."
"I don't want to see that day. I don't want to make a decision in that course, but we are prepared,” he further said.
He made the remarks in response to a question about Iran’s response to Trump who has threatened to either scrap the agreement or renegotiate it and seek a better deal.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France, and Germany) reached the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in July 2015 and implemented it in January last year.
Elsewhere in his remarks, the Iranian atomic energy chief dismissed the new US administration's intention to develop a so-called "state of the art" missile defense system to allegedly stave off attacks from North Korea and Iran as a “politicized" decision that is "against all rationality”.
"The United States — it's more than 10,000 miles (16,000 kilometers) away from Iran, and we have never intended to manufacture missiles that would go that far," he said.
The intention was announced Friday on the White House website, within minutes of Trump's inauguration.