TEHRAN – The Iranian president says Tehran will get past a 3.67% uranium enrichment level set by the 2015 nuclear deal on July 7 as a retaliatory measure to U.S. ditching of the agreement.

“We will discard that commitment. We will go beyond 3.67% as much as we want and as much as we need to,” Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday.

Rouhani also said if the remaining signatories of the nuclear deal do not fulfill their promises, the Arak nuclear reactor will return to its previous activities after July 7.

The best way for the United States is to rectify its mistake, Rouhani said, referring to the U.S. unilateral withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on May 8, 2018.

Just a year after the U.S. exit from the JCPOA, Iran announced on May 8 that it would suspend some of its commitments under the deal. The country said it will no longer export its surplus uranium and heavy water to foreign countries.

It also warned that it would carry out further suspensions of its nuclear commitments if the other parties to the deal failed to take practical steps to honor their commitments within 60 days.

President Rouhani, who was addressing a cabinet session on Wednesday, said that all the Iranian measures are “reversible” if the remaining parties live up to their obligations under the JCPOA.

“Any moment they return to the JCPOA, we will also return to the deal,” the president said.

He also said while the Americans have begun provocative moves in the region since a year ago, they say that it is dangerous to play with fire.

“Extinguishing this fire is only possible by returning to commitments and the UN resolutions,” the president said, adding that if they are not willing to uphold their commitments, Iran will take its next measures right at the end of the 60-day deadline.

Referring to U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent remarks in which he has said Iran is playing with fire by limiting its JCPOA undertakings, Rouhani said, “If you are afraid of fire, do not ignite it…. The Americans have set up fire in the region since a year ago.”

SP/PA