US 'warmongering' a failure, Iran says, as Bolton ousted

President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that the United States' "warmongering" was a failure, as Iran welcomed the sacking of hawkish US national security adviser John Bolton.

Rouhani also dismissed the prospect of a meeting with President Donald Trump at a time his US administration is continuing to slap more crippling sanctions on the Islamic republic.

"The Americans must understand that bellicosity and warmongering don't work in their favour. Both... must be abandoned," Rouhani told a meeting of his cabinet, according to the government's Twitter account.

"The enemy imposed 'maximum pressure' on us. Our response is to resist and confront this," he said, referring to the US campaign of economic sanctions.

Arch-foes Tehran and Washington have been at loggerheads since May last year when Trump unilaterally withdrew from a 2015 nuclear deal and began reimposing the punitive measures.

Iran has riposted by scaling back its commitments to the landmark accord, which gave it the promise of relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its atomic programme.

On Tuesday, Trump announced his decision to dismiss Bolton.

It was a move an adviser to Iran's president, Hesameddin Ashena, hailed as a "clear sign of the defeat of America's maximum pressure strategy" against Tehran.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stressed the US would maintain the strategy.

But they added that Trump was willing to meet Rouhani without preconditions.

The idea of a Trump-Rouhani meeting was floated last month by French President Emmanuel Macron, who has been spearheading European efforts to de-escalate tensions.

Rouhani said in response that Iran was ready to comply with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action only if the Americans did so too.

"We have said many times that our policy... is one of peaceful (nuclear) technology, and that our approach in the JCPOA is commitment for commitment," he said.

"We have taken the third step... If it is essential and necessary in the future, we will take other steps."