TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's foreign minister has accused President Donald Trump of trying to "kill" the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

Mohammad Javad Zarif said on his Twitter account on Friday that the U.S. president "always wanted to kill" the deal that curbed Iran's controversial nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.

Zarif says Trump is the one to blame and that the United States "violated the letter and the spirit" of the nuclear agreement.

President Trump has repeatedly described the nuclear deal as "bad" and has signed a bill imposing mandatory penalties on people involved in Iran's ballistic missile program and anyone who does business with them.

Zarif earlier said the Trump administration is trying to "poison the international atmosphere" with the sanctions, which Zarif deemed illegal.