Tehran ready to take nuclear program ‘to level stronger’ than before intl deal – official

Iran’s nuclear chief said on Tuesday that the European Union should make up for the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal or Tehran would ramp up its nuclear program to a level more advanced than before the accord, Reuters said. “The European signatories should make up for the US withdrawal from [the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for Iran’s nuclear program] and guarantee our rights,” the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, said in an interview on state television. “If they cannot do that, we are ready to take our nuclear program to a level stronger than before the JCPOA.”