Trump warns 'bigger problems' if Iran restarts n-programme

US President Donald Trump warned on Tuesday that Iran will have "bigger problems" if it restarts its nuclear programme.

Meeting with visiting French President Emmanuel Macron at the White House, Trump said "it won't be so easy for them to restart" the programme.

"They're not going to be restarting anything. If they restart it, they're going to have big problems, bigger than they ever had before," he said, Xinhua reported.

When asked whether he would be willing to stay in the Iran deal, also known as JCPOA, Trump said the deal was "insane," "ridiculous" and "should never have been made."

The JCPOA, short for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is an international agreement reached on July 14, 2015 between Iran and six world major countries, namely China, France, Russia, Britain, the United States and Germany, plus the European Union.

The West pledged to relieve sanctions on Iran in exchange for a halt in Tehran's efforts to develop a nuclear weapon.

In January, Trump set 120-day time for US lawmakers and the European signatories of the deal to fix the deal's "terrible flaws".

Trump has stressed that the United States and its European allies involved should fix the "Sunset Clauses" in the deal by May 12, otherwise he would withdraw from the agreement.

The "Sunset Clauses" stipulate when restrictions imposed on Iran's nuclear program expire, which critics say would allow Tehran to advance its programme.

However, Macron who arrived Monday in Washington for the first state visit since Trump took office last year is expected to persuade Trump to stay in the deal.

"The Iran deal is an important issue but we have to take a far broader picture which is security in the overall region," Macron said.

He added that "what we want to do is to contain Iran and its presence in the region."

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday urged the European parties to help protect the nuclear deal against Trump's threats.

"European leaders should encourage President Trump not just to stay in the nuclear deal, but more importantly to begin implementing his part of the bargain in good faith, Zarif tweeted. "It's either all or nothing ... there's no Plan B on JCPOA."

--IANS

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