Trump warns: Iran ‘better be careful’

US President Donald Trump yesterday warned Iran that it “better be careful” after Tehran announced that in a few hours, it would boost its uranium enrichment above a cap set by the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, reported Al Jazeera.

When asked about Iran’s recent uranium enrichment, Trump said: “Iran better be careful because you enrich for one reason, and I won’t tell you what that reason is, but it’s no good.” He also said that Iran “will never have a nuclear weapon”.

Last week, Trump warned Iran over Twitter to “be careful with the threats” as they would “come back to bite you like nobody has been bitten before”.

Joining Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threatened Iran with “further isolation and sanctions” in a tweet yesterday, while French President Emmanuel Macron warned of the “consequences that would necessarily follow” any further breach of the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran’s latest expansion of its nuclear program will lead to further isolation and sanctions. Nations should restore the longstanding standard of no enrichment for Iran’s nuclear program. Iran’s regime, armed with nuclear weapons, would pose an even greater danger to the world.

— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) July 7, 2019

Trump last year unilaterally pulled out of the nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on Iran. Since then, Iran has reduced its compliance with the deal’s terms, and last week, it surpassed the uranium stockpile limit set by the agreement.

READ: Will Iran be the reason for Trump failing to be re-elected?

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has argued that they “have NOT violated the #JCPOA” in a tweet referring to the 2015 deal by the acronym for its formal title, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

He pointed to a paragraph of the accord which contains the mechanism for countries to resolve disputes over compliance.

“As soon as E3 abide by their obligations, we’ll reverse,” he said, referring to European powers Britain, Germany and France. Iran has demanded they guarantee it the access to world trade envisioned under the deal.

READ: EU gravely concerned over Iran’s breach of nuclear deal