The claims were highlighted by a spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran. Behrouz Kamalvandi said: “If America pulls out of the deal … Iran could resume its 20 percent uranium enrichment in less than 48 hours.”     

US President Donald Trump has told Europe that the United States will pull out of the deal if the numerous flaws it contains are not fixed. He has spoken very frankly about this position regarding Iran – even before taking office.

He has described the nuclear deal as the “worst” deal and criticised his predecessor Barack Obama and his administration for being too lenient with Iran. He has vowed to take a tougher stance on Iran and, despite a slow start, he has taken several steps in denouncing Iran’s belligerence.

He wants the so-called “sunset” clauses of the nuclear deal to be removed. These clauses stipulate when several restrictions imposed on Iran’s nuclear program will expire and Trump has said that these make the long-term prospects of the agreement weak. Critics of the nuclear deal have also expressed their concerns about the sunset provisions, claiming that they provide Iran with a patient pathway to acquiring nuclear weapons.

Since the nuclear deal was signed, the Islamic Republic has fired numerous ballistic missiles. Experts say that at least 16 of them have been nuclear capable.

Trump has spoken extensively about, and criticised, Iran’s missile program and he would like to see this addressed more thoroughly.

European leaders, while maintaining that they are dedicated to keeping the nuclear deal in place, have also criticised Iran’s belligerence across the Middle East. Albeit with less strength that Trump.

The Iranian regime has maintained that its ballistic missile program is in place only for defensive purposes, but those who have any idea about Iran’s track record on telling the truth can see that this is certainly false.

The Iranian regime also denies that it supplies missile technology and weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen. However, evidence proves this is another lie and deception. For one, ballistic missiles launched from Yemen into Saudi Arabia by Houthi rebels were proven to be Iranian made.

The evidence was presented by Nikki Haley, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, to several other UN ambassadors. Iran’s response to this news was that she had fabricated claims about Iran’s involvement. To back up Haley’s claims, the UN Security Council also announced that the remnants of ballistic missiles taken from Saudi Arabia were “consistent with those reported for the Iranian designed and manufactured Qiam-1 missile”.

Jean-Yves Le Drian, the Foreign Minister of France, declared last week that France is greatly concerned about Iran’s ballistic missile program. He highlighted that Iran’s claims of having its program for defence purposes is unlikely because of the distances they can travel.