US 'ready' to make new Iran deal amid heated exchange

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The U.S. stands "ready" to strike a new nuclear accord with Iran, President Donald Trump said Tuesday.

“We’ll see what happens, but we’re ready to make a real deal, not the deal that was done by the previous administration, which was a disaster,” Trump said at a Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Kansas City, Missouri.

The U.S. and Iran engaged in a heated exchange of words over the weekend with Trump responding to a warning from Iranian President Hassan Rouhani by saying on Twitter: "NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED."

Trump has drawn Tehran's ire and unsettled close allies by unilaterally withdrawing the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear accord struck between Iran and the P5+1 group -- the permanent five members of the UN Security Council and Germany -- of world powers. Iran has insisted it will not renegotiate the deal.

Tehran received billions of dollars in sanctions relief in return for instituting a robust international nuclear inspection regime and allowing curbs on its nuclear program.

The U.S. was a driving force behind the agreement under former President Barack Obama, but Trump has long taken issue with the accord, repeatedly calling it one of the "worst" deals he has ever seen.

Following the U.S.'s unilateral exit, the Trump administration has been seeking to have other countries follow suit by raising the specter of snapped-back sanctions which would punish businesses and governments from activities that were allowed under the agreement.

The first round of sanctions, largely targeting Iran's banking sector, are set to take effect Aug. 6. A second, more robust, wave of oil-related sanctions is set to snap back Nov. 4.