WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump says "great things" can happen for the Iranian people following his announcement that the US was withdrawing from a global nuclear agreement.

Trump predicted Tuesday that Iranians would someday "want to make a new and lasting deal" and that "when they do, I am ready, willing and able."He added that a new deal could lead to the "peace and stability we all want in the Middle East."Trump was speaking from the White House when he denounced the previous Iran deal as "defective at its core."Despite lobbying from European allies, Trump moved forward with his campaign promise to pull out of the President Barack Obama-era agreement.

The Iranians have been sharply critical of the Republican president's plan to withdraw.

AP