Saudi and Israeli leaders asked Washington to bomb Iran, says John Kerry

Kerry told a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday about the demands to bomb Tehran, stressing it was "absolutely critical" to ensure the landmark deal survived.

The former top diplomat, who was one of the main architects of the nuclear deal, explained that when he met with Iran's foreign minister in 2013, Tehran had already developed advanced nuclear technology.

"Bombing was not about to put that genie back into the bottle. Now I can't tell you how much we were resisting [Netanyahu] himself and King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who said it to me personally," Kerry said.

"President Mubarak, who said it to me personally, the only thing you can do with Iran is bomb them," he added, referring to Egypt's toppled strongman Hosni Mubarak.

Kerry's comments came in response to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who said the deal with Iran has emboldened Tehran to become increasingly aggressive in the region.

Netanyahu said if the US decides to scrap the 2015 deal, which he has long opposed, "I think they'll do nothing."

Netanyahu also said that the deal was similar to the infamous 1938 "Munich Agreement" that Western powers signed with Adolf Hitler in an attempt to stave off war in Europe, which became synonymous with appeasement.

Declaring that Iran's "brazenness hit new highs," he theatrically held up a fragment of what he said was an Iranian drone shot down last week by Israel in Israeli airspace.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, appearing two hours later at the same conference, fired back that Netanyahu's comment was "delusional thinking."

Zarif dismissed Netanyahu's drone stunt as "a cartoonish circus... which does not even deserve the dignity of a response."

US President Donald Trump has expressed deep scepticism about the Iran nuclear deal that lifted sanctions against the country.

He extended sanctions waivers in January but said he would not do so again when they come up for renewal in May unless his concerns are addressed.