Tehran wants to stay in nuke deal, will talk to other world negotiators

But if outreach fails, uranium enriching will be resumed.

ISTANBUL — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday that his government remains committed to a nuclear deal with world powers, despite a decision by the United States to withdraw from the accord, but is also ready to step up its uranium enrichment.

Rouhani, who spoke following President Donald Trump’s speech announcing the U.S. withdrawal, said he has directed Iranian diplomats to negotiate with the deal’s remaining signatories, including European countries, Russia and China.

But he also warned that Iran would resume enriching uranium at higher levels if the benefits of remaining a part of the pact were unclear.

“If in the short term, we conclude that we can achieve what we want” from the nuclear deal, the agreement will survive, Rouhani said in a televised address.

If not, he continued, “I have asked [Iran’s] Atomic Energy Organization to prepare the necessary orders to start unlimited enrichment,” which had been curtailed as part of the deal.

Trump, a longtime critic of the 2015 agreement, announced his decision on the deal from the White House, abandoning the landmark accord that was signed under President Barack Obama.

“The United States will withdraw from the Iran nuclear

deal,” Trump said in a televised speech. He called it “a horrible, one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made,” and he asserted that Iran harbors ambitions to build nuclear weapons. Trump said he would begin reinstating “powerful” U.S. nuclear-related sanctions against Iran. But he offered no specifics on the sanctions to be reimposed.

The decision could trigger renewed U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil sales and Central Bank, potentially disrupting Iran’s global financial transactions and putting further pressure on its already volatile economy. It also could put European allies in a bind over whether to continue the economic dealmaking they launched with Iran since the accord was implemented in early 2016. The allies have stood firmly behind the accord, which was negotiated between Iran and six world powers: the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany. The allies could also suffer penalties under renewed U.S. sanctions, removing

incentives to continue to invest in Iran.

As part of the nuclear deal, Iran pledged never to “seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons.” Iran’s supreme religious and political leader has declared nuclear weapons to be un-Islamic, saying that its nuclear program is aimed solely at producing energy and conducting medical research.

Iranian leaders said Tuesday that the country would stand united in the face of any new sanctions or threats from the United States. Iran “could face some problems” if Trump restores sanctions, Rouhani said at a petroleum conference in the capital, Tehran. “But we will move on.”

The comments underscored a growing debate among political factions in Iran over what to do after the U.S. withdrawal. Some politicians have urged the government to continue to work with Europe to salvage the accord, which lifted key international sanctions in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program.

OFFICE OF IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (standing) has directed his diplomats to negotiate with European countries, Russia and China about remaining in the nuclear agreement.