
© AP
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
Iran's president warned European partners in its faltering nuclear deal on Wednesday that Tehran will increase its enrichment of uranium to "any amount that we want" beginning on Sunday, putting pressure on them to offer a way around intense U.S. sanctions targeting the country.
The comments by President Hassan Rouhani come as
tensions remain high between Iran and the U.S. over the deal, which President Donald Trump pulled America from over a year ago.
Authorities on Monday acknowledged
Iran broke through a limit placed on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium.
An increasing stockpile and higher enrichment closes the estimated one-year window Iran would need to produce enough material for a nuclear bomb, something Iran denies it wants but the nuclear deal sought to prevent.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has rushed an aircraft carrier, B-52 bombers and F-22 fighters to the region and Iran recently shot down a U.S. military surveillance drone. On Wednesday, Iran marked the shootdown by the U.S. Navy of an Iranian passenger jet in 1988, a mistake that killed 290 people and shows the danger of miscalculation in the current crisis.
Comment: An interesting statement from the Saudi government, considering the the two countries have been developing closer ties over the last decade. They have shared interests with regard to Iran, the Shia and Hezbollah. Why poke such an obvious sore spot?