Iran is now enriching more uranium than Tehran did before it agreed to a nuclear deal with world powers in 2015, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Thursday in a televised speech.

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"We are enriching more uranium [than] before the deal was reached ... Pressure has increased on Iran but we continue to progress," Rouhani said.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ( Photo: Reuters )

Iran has gradually scaled back its commitments under the nuclear deal in retaliation to U.S. withdrawal from the pact in 2018 and its reimposition of sanctions that have crippled the country's economy.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused three European states earlier Thursday of succumbing to Washington's threats when they triggered a dispute mechanism in the nuclear pact, a step that could lead to the reimposition of United Nations sanctions.

The pact, or JCPOA, was agreed in 2015 between Tehran and world powers. U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018 and imposed stringent U.S. sanctions on Iran, telling Tehran he wanted a new broader deal on nuclear and other issues.

"Appeasement confirmed. E3 sold out remnants of #JCPOA to avoid new Trump tariffs. It won't work, my friends. You only whet his appetite. Remember your high school bully?" Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter.