Iran playing with fire after breaching nuke deal: Trump

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran is "playing with fire" after Tehran exceeded the amount of low-enriched uranium it is allowed to stockpile under an international nuclear deal signed in 2015.

Asked by a reporter in the Oval Office if he had a message for Tehran, Trump said: "They know what they're doing. They know what they're playing with, and I think they're playing with fire."

Earlier, Iran revealed that it had breached the limit set on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium, allowing it to exceed the 300 kilograms agreed to under the deal.

Iran had warned that it had intended to breach the deal if the European Union was not able to bypass U.S. sanctions.

"So, no message to Iran whatsoever," Trump told reporters.

The breach follows the U.S. withdrawal from the deal last year and Tehran’s frustration over the EU’s failure to counter crippling U.S. sanctions and boost trade with Iran. U.S. sanctions have deterred European businesses from conducting trade with the country.

Separately, the White House said the U.S. and its allies "will never" allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons and "maximum pressure on the Iranian regime will continue".

It also called for an end to Iran's "malign behavior".

As part of its campaign, the U.S. has re-imposed sanctions on exports of Iranian crude oil, which has sent Iran’s economy into a nosedive, as well as on its metals sector and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top officials.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also said that no deal should allow Iran to enrich any uranium at all.