Iran threatens to 'burn' nuclear agreement if US reneges

Iran's top leader says that if the next US president tears up the nuclear deal, Iran will "light it on fire."

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's remarks on Tuesday appeared to be aimed at presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump, who has criticised the deal and vowed to renegotiate it.

Khamenei referred to a "US presidential candidate threatening to tear the deal up."

Khamenei said: "We do not violate the deal, but if the other party violates it, if they tear the agreement up, we will light it on fire."

The landmark nuclear agreement reached nearly a year ago granted Iran billions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for curbing its uranium enrichment programme.

Khamenei has the final say on all major issues in Iran.

Iran can expect a shift in relations with the United States to a more aggressive posture under a Republic president

Iran can expect a shift in relations with the United States to a more aggressive posture under a Republic president, a reversal of the warming trend nurtured by Democratic President Barack Obama, said Reuters.

Hillary Clinton, who Obama has endorsed to succeed him in the Nov. 8 election, said in March in a speech to a pro-Israel lobby group in Washington that Iran still posed a threat to Israel and needed to be closely watched.

She was secretary of state under Obama during his first term.

The United States and Europe lifted sanctions on Tehran in January under the deal that curbed Iran's nuclear programme.

However, some restrictions remain, including on financial transactions, slowing Iranian hopes to reintegrate with world markets.