Iranian president: Trump unqualified to understand complex nuclear issue

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday criticised US and European discussions over the landmark 2015 nuclear pact, singling out US President Donald Trump as a "tradesman" who lacked the qualifications to deal with the complex agreement.

US President Donald Trump has fiercely criticised a three-year-old deal reached by world powers to curb Iran's nuclear programme, and threatened to pull the US out of the agreement. 

Trump is also eyeing a broader pact that also limits Iran's ballistic missile programme and support for armed groups across the Middle East. 

European signatories to the 2015 deal have been scrambling to salvage it, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying on Tuesday after talks with Trump that he wished "for now to work on a new deal with Iran".

Rouhani took aim at Trump - a former real estate mogul and TV reality star - and accused him of lacking in experience.

"You don't have any background in politics. You don't have any background in law. You don't have any background on international treaties," Rouhani said.

"How can a tradesman, a merchant, a building constructor, a tower constructor make judgements about international affairs," he added referring to Trump's career as a property developer.

Rouhani insisted that by agreeing to the nuclear accord in 2015 Tehran "showed goodwill to the world".

"We wanted to prove to the world that Iran does not seek to acquire weapons of mass destruction."

Europe, led by Britain, France and Germany, has repeatedly tried to persuade Trump not to abandon the 2015 deal, which gave Iran massive sanctions relief and the guarantee of a civilian nuclear programme in return for limiting enrichment that could produce weapons grade fuel.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel will renew those calls when she follows Macron to Washington on Friday.

The EU's diplomatic chief Federica Mogherini insisted on Wednesday that the current Iran nuclear deal was working and "needs to be preserved", after Trump and Macron called for a new agreement with Tehran.