Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani. Photo: Wikipedia.

The speaker of the Majlis, Iran’s parliament, threatened that his country would continue developing its nuclear facilities if the West delayed implementing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran’s semi-independent Tasnim News Agency reported on Tuesday.

In a speech he delivered in the city of Gamsar, Ali Larijani said that the West, in particular the P5+1, was currently faced with a “tough test.”

“You would either lift the sanctions, according to the deal, and avoid threatening behavior against the Iranian nation or fail to fulfill your promises, and if the latter is the case, the [Iranian] nation’s response will be harsh,” he warned. “If the Westerners fail to meet their pledges or delay the implementation of the provisions of the JCPOA, we will build enrichment plants.”

Sunday (October 18) was slated to be “adoption day” of the JCPOA, ninety days after the conclusion of the intensive negotiations in Vienna, which led to the signing of the nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 on July 14.