Rouhani defiant, saying Iran will enrich uranium ‘by whatever amount we feel like’

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday that Tehran will increase its level of uranium enrichment in the next few days “by whatever amount we feel like.”

“Our level of enrichment will no longer be 3.67. We will put this commitment aside by whatever amount we feel like, by whatever amount is our necessity, our need. We will take this above 3.67,” said Rouhani, according to Reuters, which cited the IRIB news agency.{mosads}

The country under the multinational Obama-era deal is prohibited from enriching uranium above 3.67 percent, which can be used in nuclear power plants but is far less than the 90 percent necessary to make weapons, according to The Associated Press. 

The move appears to be aimed at bringing world leaders to negotiate with Iran, particularly in the face of sanctions recently imposed by the U.S.

“Our advice to Europe and the United States is to go back to logic and to the negotiating table,” Rouhani said. “Go back to understanding, to respecting the law and resolutions of the U.N. Security Council. Under those conditions, all of us can abide by the nuclear deal.”

According to the AP, Iran is likely still a year from having enough uranium for a nuclear weapon, although the country has said its program exists for peaceful reasons. 

President Trump last year pulled the U.S. out of the nuclear deal with Iran.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have escalated in recent weeks, with Trump saying he called off a military strike on the country in retaliation for the downing of a U.S. drone minutes before it was about to occur.