Trump: ‘Careful with threats, Iran. They can come back to bite you’

Trump reacted after Iran’s president said the country could enrich uranium to “any amount we want.”

By World Israel News Staff

President Donald Trump sent a stern warning to Iran via Twitter on Wednesday after the Islamic Republic’s president, Hassan Rouhani, said Iran would “take the next step” in increasing its uranium enrichment.

Trump responded, “Iran has just issued a New Warning. Rouhani says that they will Enrich Uranium to “any amount we want” if there is no new Nuclear Deal. Be careful with the threats, Iran. They can come back to bite you like nobody has been bitten before,” Trump tweeted.

Iran’s president had directed his warning at the European powers which are signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Those countries want the deal to remain in force. Tehran hopes its threats will work to pressure them to save the deal, which the U.S. pulled out of last May.

Iran breached a low-enriched uranium stockpile limit set by the deal this week. Iran said on Sunday it would increase its enrichment of uranium closer to weapons-grade levels if Europe doesn’t offer it a new deal.

Rouhani made his remarks in a televised address to his Cabinet on Wednesday. His remarks seemed to signal that Europe has yet to offer Iran anything to alleviate the pain of the renewed U.S. sanctions targeting its oil industry and top officials.

As tensions rise, it looks unlikely that Europe can offer Iran a way to sell its oil on the global market despite U.S. sanctions.

Rouhani did leave open the possibility of negotiations.

“Our advice to Europe and the United States is to go back to logic and to the negotiating table,” he said. “Go back to understanding, to respecting the law and resolutions of the U.N. Security Council. Under those conditions, all of us can abide by the nuclear deal.”

Rouhani some two months earlier set the Sunday deadline that Iran would increase its enrichment of uranium. Wednesday’s remarks underlined that.

“From July 7 onward, the level of our enrichment will not be at 3.67% anymore,” Rouhani said. “We will put aside this commitment as much as we want to and to any level we think is necessary and we need.”

On Tuesday, European powers issued a statement on Iran breaking through its stockpile limit, calling on Tehran “to reverse this step and to refrain from further measures that undermine the nuclear deal.”