Iran warns US to 'disassemble military bases within 1,000km' over sanctions

The leader of Iran's Revolutionary Guard has warned the US to move its military bases from within 1,000km of the country.

Mohammad Ali Jafari is said to have made the remarks in response to new US sanctions over Iran's ballistic missile programme.

"If the United States wants to pursue sanctions against Iran's defences and the Guards, then it has to move its regional bases to a distance of about 1,000 km (620 miles) around Iran," he was quoted as saying by state TV.

The US should also "be aware that it would pay a high price for any miscalculations", he said.

It comes after the Trump administration announced new, non-nuclear sanctions on the country.

The US has bases in Qatar and Kuwait across the Gulf from Iran and the US Fifth Fleet is based in nearby Bahrain.

Iran's president has also said the country will "stand up to" the US.

Speaking at a weekly cabinet meeting, Hassan Rouhani said the "great nation of Iran will have an appropriate answer" and that the Iranian parliament will also act.

The new sanctions target 18 Iranian individuals and groups and are perceived as being the latest attempt by the US to clamp down on Iran's military financing.

These range from an Iranian-based company accused of aiding the country's drone program to a Turkey-based provider of naval equipment and a China-based network that helped secure electronics for Tehran.

On Monday, Washington confirmed that Iran had met its obligations under its nuclear deal, reached in 2015.

However, the Trump administration said the country would still face consequences for breaching "the spirit" of the accord, a reference to Tehran's continued pursuit of a ballistic missile program.

President Rouhani said such statements were designed to dissuade Iran from complying with the deal.

"This plot will never succeed" he said. "We will always remain loyal to our international commitments".

Meanwhile, a new report by the US state department says that Iran is still the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism.

The report, the first of the Trump administration, found that the number of terrorist attacks globally dropped by 9% between 2015 and 2016.