Iranian President Hassan Rohani responded to Trump's provocations on the sanctions to be increased on Iran: "Enough with threats and sanctions or we will resume the nuclear program in a few hours, taking it to a much more advanced level than in 2015". Today the authoritative director of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization (Aeoi), Ali Akbar Salehi, confirmed Rohani's thought, giving the details of the answer. In the event of the US annulment or violation of the nuclear deal, the Aeoi director said, "Iran could increase uranium enrichment to 20% in just five days." Salehi also indicated the Fordo nuclear plant as a site capable of being able to start enrichment in such a short time. "We are certainly not interested in such a thing - continued the Aeoi director - We are committed to this agreement and we are faithful to what has been signed". Provided, of course, respect is mutual, as for Salehi "Iran's priority is to preserve the nuclear deal, but not at any price". "We were able to stabilize the Fordo plant in accordance with the provisions of the nuclear agreement", Salehi continued, recalling that "the conservation of the Fordo structure was one of the strengths of the agreement". Under the July 2015 nuclear deal, which ended sanctions, Iran has now pledged to enrich uranium to less than 5% for purely peaceful purposes. The inspections have always shown Iran's full respect for the agreement so far, but Trump has repeatedly threatened not to want to keep this agreement signed by Obama and considered penalizing for the US. For Salehi, however, there is no doubt: "any violation of the nuclear agreement is equivalent to a violation of international political logic". The Aeoi director then remarked that "Iran is still engaged in the development of its nuclear know-how and in the research of its applications in sectors as diverse as agriculture, industry and health care". Among the advances in the sector, Salehi recalled that, with the contribution of Russia, two nuclear power plants were built in Bushehr, while "great steps were also taken to develop nuclear propulsion systems". The Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, also spoke yesterday on the issue of the nuclear agreement, confirming its "primary importance". "We will continue our commitment to positive dialogue with the world," said Zarif, noting the need to prevent the United States from violating this international agreement at the expense of Iran. The entire area and the process of rapprochement between the US and Iran in the nuclear sector would be affected.
