Iran tells UN it will hike uranium-enrichment capacity

Iran, on Tuesday, told the International Atomic Energy Agency that it has started a plan to increase its uranium enrichment capacity.

Nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi notified the agency in a letter submitted on Monday.

"A letter was submitted to the agency yesterday regarding the start of certain activities," said Salehi, a vice president and head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation.

"If conditions allow, maybe tomorrow night at Natanz, we can announce the opening of the centre for the production of new centrifuges" for uranium enrichment, he said, quoted by conservative news agency Fars.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, said he had ordered preparations for enrichment, should the 2015 nuclear deal fail completely. He said the country had the capacity to accelerate production of centrifuges, which are used to enrich uranium.

President Donald Trump pulled America out of the deal last month.

He said he would initiate new sanctions on Iran, ripping up the touchstone agreement negotiated by his predecessor, Barack Obama.

Since then, Khamenei and other Iranian officials have been on the attack, threatening to increase uranium enrichment.

European countries and China have said they will stand by the existing nuclear accord. But fears are growing in Tehran that European leaders will be unable to prevent Washington from reimposing sanctions on European companies, which would badly damage Iran's oil economy.

The bloc's foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini last monthsaid, the European Union (EU) wants to preserve the landmark Iran nuclear deal for security interests.

Since the day the United States (US) pulled out of the deal, Mogherini, on different occasions, assured Iran saying, as long as Iran abides by all its nuclear-related commitments, the EU will stick to the deal.