Remain in deal or 'face severe consequences'

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called on US President Donald Trump to uphold the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers, or "face severe consequences".

"I am telling those in the White House that if they do not live up to their commitments...the Iranian government will firmly react," Rouhani said in a televised speech.

"If anyone betrays the deal, they should know that they would face severe consequences," he told a cheering crowd of thousands gathered in the city of Tabriz. "Iran is prepared for all possible situations," he added.

Iran has said it will ramp up its nuclear programme if the deal collapses.

French President Emmanuel Macron is in Washington, trying to convince Trump not to tear up the accord. 

The warning comes weeks in advance of a May 12 deadline for Trump to renew the deal.

The US president has previously said he would scrap the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which he has called the "worst deal in history", unless "a better option" is presented to him.

Meanwhile, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani yesterday said that Tehran might quit a Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if US exits the deal.

The objective of the NPT, which took effect in 1970, is to halt the spread of nuclear weapons-making capability.

In a UN non-proliferation conference in Geneva, Russia and China submitted a draft statement expressing "unwavering "support" for the Iran nuclear accord and said they hoped it would receive broad backing.

A senior Russian Foreign Ministry told the meeting that the deal was fragile and any attempt to amend it would affect the global non-proliferation regime.