Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) stressed the country has enough technical know-how to return to conditions it had before signing JCPOA.
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“In terms of nuclear science, Iran has reached a level that if we fail to fulfill those promises that we gave to people upon signing the JCPOA (the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action), we will return to the past [conditions] and [even] a much better level [of the nuclear activities],” Ali Akbar Salehi told reporters.
"If we are saying that we are fully prepared to return to a level much higher than the past in the nuclear field, we are speaking based on realities," he added.
Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, Russia and China – plus Germany signed the nuclear agreement on July 14, 2015 and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.
Under the JCPOA, Iran undertook to put limits on its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of nuclear-related sanctions imposed against Tehran.
However, US President Donald Trump is a stern critic of the nuclear deal, reached under his predecessor Barack Obama, and has repeatedly warned that he might ultimately terminate the agreement.
The US president on January 12 reluctantly agreed to waive sanctions against Iran that were lifted as part of the landmark deal, but threatened to withdraw from the accord if some "disastrous flaws" were not fixed.
He said he wanted America's European allies to use the 120-day period before sanctions relief again came up for renewal to agree to tougher measures and new conditions; otherwise Washington would pull out of the deal.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Salehi warned Trump against taking this course and expressed hope that the US president would come to his senses and refrain from causing problems not only for himself but also for others.
He further stated that Iran's nuclear propulsion project was being implemented in a suitable manner, adding, "However, it must be taken into account that this is a long-term project."
The AEOI head noted that only six countries, including the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and India, currently possessed the nuclear propulsion system, saying that India succeeded in gaining the technology after many years with Russia's help.
