Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (C) delivers a speach to the parliament in Tehran on August 20, 2017, as Iran's parliament prepares to vote on the President's cabinet. (AFP Photo)

TEHRAN, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iran warned Tuesday it needs only five days to enrich its uranium to 20 percent, a level at which the material could be used for a nuclear weapon, the state television reported on Tuesday.

The comments by Iran's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi on Iranian state television come as the U.S. threatened to renegotiate or walk away from the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran gave up the majority of its stockpile of 20-percent enriched uranium as part of the nuclear deal it struck with world powers.

The accord, which lifted sanctions on Iran, currently caps the Islamic Republic uranium enrichment at 5 percent.