UN chief warns against scrapping Iran nuclear deal

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Thursday against scrapping an international deal on Iran's nuclear programme unless there was a good alternative in place.

U.S. President Donald Trump has been threatening to pull out of the agreement, leading to diplomatic tensions with Iran as well as with U.S. allies keen to preserve the agreement.

"If one day there is a better agreement to replace it it's fine, but we should not scrap it unless we have a good alternative," Guterres said in an interview with BBC Radio 4.

"I believe the JCPOA (the Iran nuclear deal) was an important diplomatic victory and I think it will be important to preserve it but I also believe there are areas in which it will be very important to have a meaningful dialogue because I see the region in a very dangerous position," he said.

"I understand the concerns of some countries in relation to the Iranian influence in other countries of the region. So I think we should separate things."