White House says Trump could still renegotiate Iran nuclear deal

White House advisor Kellyanne Conway on December 6 said that US President Donald Trump remains optimistic about renegotiating the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran despite the United States killing Iranian General Qassem Soleimani in an airstrike. According to reports, the remarks by the White House advisor comes after Iran made an announcement that it would further back off from the nuclear deal after the killing of Soleimani. Responding to a question, Conway said that Trump is open to renegotiating the deal only if Iran starts to act civil.

Trump warns Iran

Refusing to scale down on the threats to Iran, US President Donald Trump, on Monday, tweeted a warning to Iran. This development came after the Iraqi parliament voted to expel 5,000 American troops from the country.

Iran officially announced on January 5 its exit from the 2015 Nuclear Accord. Tehran stated it was stepping back from the deal and it would forego the "limit on the number of centrifuges" it had pledged. Iran's nuclear deal with Britain, China, France, Russia, Germany and the United States has been in trouble since the US unilaterally withdrew from it two years ago. Moreover, Iran stated that they had successfully enriched uranium to about 4.5 per cent, and threatened to hit the 20 per cent mark.

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Rouhani responds to Trump's threat

After Iran declared vengeance over the killing of Iran's Revolutionary Guard commander-general Qassem Soleimani, Trump threatened that Iran 'will be hit very hard'. Furthermore, he tweeted that 52 Iranian sites which were important to Iran and its culture will be targetted. Rouhani responded to Trump's warning by posting a tweet.

On January 3, the White House and the Pentagon confirmed the death of Iran's powerful military head and US-designated terrorist, Qassem Soleimani in an airstrike directed by Donald Trump. Six others were killed along with General Soleimani including Iraqi militia head - Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis. Since then the Green Zone outside US Embassy in Baghdad, several Iraqi airbases and some cities with the presence of the American troops have been targetted by Iran-backed militia - Hezbollah.

Read: Pentagon Rejects Trump Threat To Hit Iranian Cultural Sites

Read: 'Never Threaten Iran,' Iran President Tells Trump

(With inputs from agencies)