In an interview broadcast on Monday by Fox News, Trump said he believed there were two ways of stopping Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, "with bombs or with a written piece of paper".

"I'd much rather do a deal that's not gonna hurt them," he said, adding that "I'd love to make a deal with them without bombing them."

On Tuesday, Iran submitted a letter to the UN Security Council to register its protest against what it called Trump's "deeply alarming and irresponsible remarks".

"These reckless and inflammatory statements flagrantly violate international law and the UN Charter, particularly Article 2(4), which prohibits threats or use of force against sovereign states," said Iran's head of mission Saeed Iravani in the letter published by the official IRNA news agency.

He further warned that "any act of aggression will have severe consequences, for which the United States will bear full responsibility."

Trump's remarks came amid renewed tensions after he reinstated his "maximum pressure" policy against Iran over concerns the country was seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

Tehran insists its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes and denies any intention to develop atomic weapons.

In the letter, Iravani also condemned the policy saying it "reinforces unlawful, unilateral coercive measures and escalates hostility against Iran"

During Trump's first term, which ended in 2021, Washington withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal that had imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.

Tehran continued to adhere to the deal -- known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action -- until a year after Washington pulled out, but then began rolling back its commitments.

Efforts to revive the 2015 deal have since faltered.

On Friday, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said there should not be negotiations with the United States, after Trump suggested striking a "verified nuclear peace agreement" with Iran.

"No problem will be solved by negotiating with America," he said, citing previous "experience".