TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran's president defended the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers on Saturday, saying not even 10 Donald Trumps can roll back its benefits to his country, state TV reported.

Hassan Rouhani's comments came as President Donald Trump appears to be stepping back from his campaign pledge to tear up the deal, instead aiming to take other measures against Iran and its affiliates.

State TV broadcast Rouhani while addressing students at Tehran University, marking the beginning of the educational year.

In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a ceremony marking the beginning of new Iranian academic year at the Tehran University, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017. Iran's president on Saturday defended thefronts. One is with Trump, who always says it is a bad deal, and on the other side, hardliners inside the country.

By the time of his 2017 re-election, Rouhani increasingly criticized hard-liners within Iran who criticized him and the atomic deal for giving too much away to the West, especially the U.S., still the "Great Satan" for some even decades after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

In this photo released by the official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a ceremony marking the beginning of new Iranian academic year at the Tehran University, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Oct. 7, 2017. Iran's president on Saturday defended the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, saying not even 10 Donald Trumps can roll back its