Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said the country is prepared to take action should President Donald Trump decide to reinstate sanctions. | Kevin Hagen/Getty Images Iran may resume nuclear program at ‘greater speed’ if Trump exits deal, Tehran says

Iran may resume its nuclear activities “at a much greater speed” if President Donald Trump moves forward with plans to pull the U.S. out of a landmark nuclear agreement and reimpose sanctions against the nation, Iran’s foreign minister said Friday.

Foreign Minister Javad Zarif told “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan, in an interview set to air Sunday, that Iran is open to relaunching its nuclear program should Trump not waive economic sanctions on Tehran.


“We have put a number of options for ourselves and those options are ready, including options that would involve resuming at a much greater speed our nuclear activities,” Zarif said, according to an early excerpt obtained by POLITICO. “And those options are ready to be implemented, and we would make the necessary decision when we see fit.”

Trump in January again extended the nuclear deal, one of former President Barack Obama’s signature foreign policy achievements, despite frequently railing against the pact and threatening to withdraw the U.S. from it.

The action effectively set a May 12 deadline for the president to decide whether to again renew a waiver of sanctions against Iran, something that comes up for renewal every 120 days. The lifting of sanctions was agreed upon by the Obama administration as part of the international agreement, which imposed additional restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program.

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Zarif said the country is prepared to take action should Trump decide to reinstate sanctions, adding, “Obviously, the rest of the world cannot ask us to unilaterally and one-sidedly implement a deal that has already been broken.”

The Trump administration has taken an increasingly tough stance against Iran. Trump and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley earlier this month faulted the Iranian government in the recent suspected chemical weapons attack in Syria, with Trump railing against Tehran on Twitter for backing the Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Next week, Trump is set to meet at the White House with President Emmanuel Macron of France and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, two leaders who reportedly hope to persuade Trump not to ditch the deal.

