"Of course, if the Europeans... seek to abuse (this process), they must also be prepared to accept the consequences," Iran's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Tehran suggested it had little faith in the declaration by the Europeans that they were determined "to work with all participants to preserve" the landmark deal.

"On the contrary, it once again signals to everyone, in particular to the three European state parties to the agreement, that it will respond seriously and firmly to any disloyalty, ill will or unconstructive action," the Iranian statement added.

Britain, France and Germany announced Tuesday that they had triggered a dispute resolution mechanism provided for in the nuclear deal in order to force Iran to honour its commitments under the accord.

The US unilaterally pulled out of the multilateral deal in May 2018, before re-imposing sanctions against the Islamic republic.