Iran said Monday it will take a "strong step" away from the 2015 international nuclear deal if European countries do not take steps to help it bypass U.S. sanctions on its oil sales.
Government spokesman Ali Rabiei said "Iran's oil should be bought and its money should be accessible to return to Iran."
Iranian officials have set a Friday deadline for instituting the latest pullback from the agreement that limited its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
Already, Iran has gone past limits on the amount of enriched uranium it is allowed to stockpile as well as the level to which it is allowed to enrich.
It has not specified what the next step would be, but it could involve enriching to even higher levels than the current 4.5% or restarting centrifuges it shut down as part of the agreement.
The United States imposed its sanctions after President Donald Trump decided to withdraw from the nuclear deal last year.
