Iran’s president and Revolutionary Guard chief warned Washington over the weekend against pulling out of the 2015 nuclear energy deal.

US President Donald Trump has raised speculation he will announce he is decertifying Iran’s compliance with the accord in a speech later this week.

The accord lifted an international blockade on Iranian oil exports in return for UN inspections to ensure Iran’s nuclear energy programme is only used for peaceful purposes.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told students at Tehran University on Saturday: “We have achieved benefits that are irreversible: nobody can roll them back, neither Trump nor 10 other Trumps.”

“If the United States violates [the agreement], the entire world will condemn America, not Iran,” he added.

And yesterday Revolutionary Guard chief General Mohammad Ali Jafari said the US had better move its network of bases in the Middle East out of the 1,200-mile range of Iran’s ballistic missiles before it imposes new sanctions.

US moves to decertify Iranian compliance would not mean cancelling the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action deal struck between Iran, the US, Russia, China, Britain, France, Germany and the EU two years ago.

Mr Trump appears to be stepping back from his campaign pledge to tear up the 2015 nuclear deal, instead aiming to take other measures against Iran and its affiliates. Last week he cryptically dubbed a White House meeting of armed forces chiefs “the calm before the storm.”

“The Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence and chaos across the Middle East,” Mr Trump told the Thursday evening meeting.

“That is why we must put an end to Iran’s continued aggression and nuclear ambitions,” he added. “You will be hearing about Iran very shortly.”

New actions expected to be announced by the White House in the coming days will focus on the Revolutionary Guard and Hezbollah, the Shi’ite militant group the US blames for sowing discord in the Middle East and seeking Israel’s demise.

They include financial sanctions on anyone who does business with the Revolutionary Guard, as well as millions of dollars in rewards for information leading to the arrest of two Hezbollah operatives.