TEHRAN, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iran said it will "act appropriately" if the U.S. President Donald Trump chooses to "tear up" the Iranian nuclear deal signed in 2015 between Iran and six world powers, Press TV reported on Sunday.

"We can very easily snap back and go back ... not only to where we were, but a much higher position, technologically speaking," head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Ali Akbar Salehi, was quoted as saying.

The Iranians do not want the day when nuclear deal is broken apart, "but we are prepared" for that day, Salehi said.

Trump has repeatedly criticized the Iran nuclear deal during his campaign last year, calling it "the worst deal ever negotiated." He also suggested that he would force Iran to return to the negotiating table or risk the accord being dismantled.

Iran and six world major countries, namely the United States, Britain, China, Russia, France and Germany, reached an agreement on the Iranian nuclear issue in July 2015 that puts Tehran on the path of sanctions relief but more strict limits on its nuclear program.