(VOVWORLD) - Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei has said that the nation could boost its uranium enrichment to a purity of 60 percent if needed, upping the stakes in a standoff with the West over the country’s 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran is determined to gain nuclear capabilities proportionate to the country’s needs, and for this reason the limit for Iran’s enrichment won’t be 20 percent, Khamenei was quoted as saying in a speech on Monday to members of the Assembly of Experts. Iran will act to whatever level is necessary, even 60 percent for nuclear advancement, for instance, he said.
Khamenei’s remarks come as European powers along with the United States, which abandoned the nuclear deal in 2018, are in disagreement with Iran.Western powers wish to rescue Obama’s 2015 deal, and lift the sanctions on Iran imposed by former US President Donald Trump.
On the same day, America’s top general, Kenneth McKenzie, urged Iranian restraint amid efforts to restart talks. He said that Iran must refrain from any provocation, as Washington steps up efforts to salvage the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran.
However, McKenzie said in an interview on Sunday, during a visit to Oman, that he believes the US will be prepared for any eventuality.