While N Korea ‘made sense’, Iran comes up with threats against US withdrawal from N-pact

Just when the Donald Trump administration started to feel pleased with the development in the Korean Peninsula, new threats emanated from Iran - another member of what former American president had dubbed as the "axis of evil" in the early 2000s.

On Saturday, April 21, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said his country's atomic agency was ready with "expected and unexpected" reactions if Washington executed President Trump's threat of pulling out of a multinational nuclear deal, Reuters reported.

In his speech telecast on state television, Rouhani aired the caution referring a possible decision of withdrawal by Trump though he did not elaborate.

The previous Barack Obama administration tried to reach a peace deal with Iran and a pact was reached between Tehran, Washington and five other world powers to curb Iran's nuclear programme in lieu of relief to its economy which was put under stress by sanctions.

After his arrival, Trump called the pact one of the worst deals and also asked Britain, France and Germany to reach a consensus to fix the deal or else, threatened to stop extending the US sanctions relief.

On Thursday, April 19, US disarmament ambassador Robert Wood said the US was having "intense" deliberations with its European allies ahead of the May 12 deadline when Washington's sanctions on Tehran would resume unless Trump decides otherwise, the Reuters report added.

Europe has been urging the US not to take a drastic step saying dumping the deal would only lead to volatility in the region.

Iran said it would abide by the accord as long as other parties obeyed it but will "shred" it if the US withdrew.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also echoed Rouhani's words saying Tehran's reaction to the US's withdrawal from the agreement would be "unpleasant". The country's state TV quoted Zarif as saying in New York, Reuters added.

The Iranian prime minister also said that his government sought prevention of instability in the foreign market exchange that might be caused by a possible exit by the US from the nuclear agreement.