Donald Trump has surrounded himself with hardliners in his administration who have openly called for bombing Iran and carrying out regime change, says a new report, which also warns of the possibility of a military confrontation being engineered through provocative action.

Senior members of the US administration, which has pulled out of the nuclear deal with Tehran unilaterally, have vocalised its desire to destroy the agreement and cripple the Iranian economy in the process, the document prepared by the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) points out.

The report holds, however, that there is a chance of averting a violent scenario following the American midterm elections, which have given the Democrats control of the House of Representatives. There are Republicans as well as Democrats who are wary of the hawkish approach of some of Mr Trump’s advisers, and a bipartisan approach may pave the way for the deal to be saved and even for Washington to rejoin it in the future.

NIAC, an independent organisation which studies issues involving the US and Iran, reminds readers that the UK, France, Germany, Russia and China, the other signatories to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) have all said repeatedly that Tehran is living by its obligations, as have the United Nations. The Trump administration’s stance, it has pointed out, has caused a serious rift with western allies who are now taking legal and commercial measures to protect international companies from US sanctions.

Re-engaging with Tehran would give the US, with the help of its western allies, the means to address issues of concern such as human rights in Iran and its activities in the region, the report stresses. The imposition of sanctions, it continues, will not only hurt the Iranian people by interrupting the provision of humanitarian supplies like medicine, but bolster anti-western reactionaries.

The British foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, is in Tehran to press for the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the British-Iranian woman who has spent two and half years in jail charged with spying, but he is also raising the issue the issue of Iranian support for Houthis in the Yemen civil war while reiterating the UK’s commitment to the nuclear agreement. Such engagement, it is held, is the right way to address the situation.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures Show all 20 1 /20 Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures 2018 Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe hugs her daughter Gabriella, in Iran after she was allowed to leave the Iranian prison, she is being held in, for three days. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested during a holiday with her toddler daughter in April 2016. Iranian authorities accuse her of plotting against the government. Her family denies this, saying says she was in Iran to visit family. Free Nazanin Campaign/AP Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her husband Richard Ratcliffe and their daughter Gabriella. Nazanin is serving a five-year prison sentence for allegedly plotting to overthrow Iran's government. PA Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures June 2016 Richard Ratcliffe's daughter Gabriella had her British passport confiscated and was stranded in Iran with her grandparents after her mother Nazanin was jailed. He left left a giant birthday card on the doorstep of the Iranian embassy in central London to mark her second birthday in June 2016. PA Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures Nazanin has spent some of her prison sentence in solitary confinement. PA Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her husband Richard and daughter Gabriella. Family Handout Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures July 2016 Richard Ratcliffe delivering a letter of petition with his mother Barbara Ratcliffe and MP Tulip Siddiq, to 10, Downing Street on the 100th day of her detention, on July 12, 2016. Getty Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures Supporters of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe held a vigil outside the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to mark her 707 days in captivity. Getty Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures January 2017 Richard Ratcliffe holds a '#Free Nazanin' sign and candle during a vigil for for wife on January 16, 2017. The vigil, being held outside the Iranian Embassy in London marks one year since the Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian and other US-Iranian dual-nationals were released from prison in Iran. Getty Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures Nazanin with her daughter Gabriella before they were detained by Iranian authorities. Change.org Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures September 2017 Gabriella, who is three-years-old in this picture, has now spent two years away from her mother. Richard Ratcliffe Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures November 2017 Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson meets with Richard Ratcliffe over Nazanin's case. They meet just days after Johnson told a parliamentary committee that she was in Iran "training journalists". WPA Pool/Getty Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures November 2017 Actor Emma Thompson braved pneumonia to support Richard Ratcliffe in leading demonstrators before a march in support of Nazanin in November. Reuters Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures November 2017 Richard Ratcliffe after the march said: 'It is profoundly moving to see so many people here.' REUTERS Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures November 2017 A picture of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe shown on Iranian state TV as part of a report that made fresh allegations against her. They said she had been recruiting for banned broadcast services, as well as 'opposition cyber teams'. Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures December 2017 Iranian president Hassan Rouhani greets British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson at the presidential office in Tehran, Iran. Johnson visited Tehran to discuss the fate of detained Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. EPA Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe with her daughter Gabriella. PA Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures December 2017 Photos of Richard Ratcliffe and his wife Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe on display at their home in north London. Mr Ratcliffe said he believed there was "still a chance" she may be released from an Iranian prison in time for a dream Christmas together. Unfortunately that didn't happen. PA Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures February 2018 Richard Ratcliffe delivers a petition and a letter addressed to the Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to demand her release, at the Iranian Embassy in London on February 21, 2018. He also left support letters for his spouse in the country's embassy, amid a visit by a deputy foreign minister. AFP/Getty Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures August 2018 Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt meeting Richard Ratcliffe. Hunt has pledged to do everything possible to secure the release of a charity worker jailed in Iran Jeremy Hunt/PA Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe – in pictures August 2018 Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe hugs her daughter Gabriella, in Iran after she was allowed to leave the Iranian prison, she is being held in, for three days. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was arrested during a holiday with her toddler daughter in April 2016. Iranian authorities accuse her of plotting against the government. Her family denies this, saying says she was in Iran to visit family. PA

Israel and Saudi Arabia, the two states which successfully lobbied Mr Trump to sabotage the JCPOA signed between Tehran and international powers, have long urged Washington to take military action against Iran.

The report reminds how previous administrations had to resist repeated calls for strikes against Iran by Israel and a Sunni bloc. “Every leader I met with in the region,” John Kerry, secretary of state under Barack Obama, recalled, “said, ‘You have to bomb Iran, that is the only thing they understand and that is the only way you will stop them having a nuclear weapon.’” Robert Gates, defence secretary in both the Bush and Obama administrations, said these leaders were hoping to “fight the Iranians to the last American”.

Senior Trump officials who had urged against withdrawing from the nuclear agreement, such as Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and National Security Adviser Lieutenant General HR McMaster, have left the administration. Another moderate voice, General James Mattis, is expected to depart in the near future.

The NIAC report states: “While Trump himself routinely pillories the 2003 decision to invade Iraq, he has surrounded himself with hawks who seek the same fate for Iran. National Security Adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have in the past openly called for regime change and bombing Iran.”

Mr Bolton, like Mr Trump, is a Vietnam draft-dodger but has always been a strong advocate of US military action and remains a firm defender of the Iraq invasion. He has stated in the past: “To stop Iran’s bomb, bomb Iran... The inconvenient truth is that only military action like Israel’s 1981 attacks on Saddam Hussein’s Osirak reactor in Iraq or its 2007 destruction of a Syrian reactor, designed and built by North Korea, can accomplish what is required.”

Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Show all 10 1 /10 Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iranian MPs burnt a US flag in parliament after Donald Trump announced America's withdrawal from the nuclear deal. AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal US President Donald Trump displays a presidential memorandum after announcing his intent to withdraw from the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement in the Diplomatic Room at the White House. Reuters Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Some Iranian MPs reacted after Trumps decision by shouting 'death to America'. AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iranian lawmakers prepare to burn two pieces of papers representing the US flag and the nuclear deal. AP Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iran said it will hold talks with signatories to the nuclear deal after Trump's decision to withdraw from the accord, which it branded "psychological warfare". AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Several Iranian MPs stood chanting in the Tehran parliament. AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iranian MPs burning a US flag AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal President Hassan Rouhani addressed the nation in a televised speech in Tehran. He said he'd send his foreign minister to negotiate with countries remaining in the nuclear deal after Trump's decision to pull America from the deal, warning he otherwise would restart enriching uranium "in the next weeks." Iranian Presidency Office via AP Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iran's press condemned Trump's withdrawal from a multi-party nuclear deal but was divided over whether Tehran should react with patience or withdraw itself. AFP Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Trump announced the US withdrawal from what he called the "defective" multinational nuclear deal with Iran, and said Washington would reinstate sanctions against the Islamic republic. AFP/Getty

The report cautions that the Trump administration could be attempting to provoke Tehran to leave the nuclear agreement. It says: “If they succeed in goading Iran to leave the constraints of the JCPOA, Bolton and Pompeo would have all the ammunition they need to replicate the Iraq war playbook and tee up a preventive war to stop Iran’s alleged nuclear ambitions. Even if they fail, the spark for a massive military conflagration with Iran could come from multiple directions in the absence of deconfliction channels.

“A clash in the tight waterways of the Persian Gulf, US manoeuvres to push Iran out of Syria, or Iranian retaliation for perceived foreign support for terror within Iranian borders could be all war hawks in Washington and Riyadh would need to push headlong into a disastrous war.”

NIAC urges Congress to act as speedily as possible: “Given the risks of President Trump and his administration fully collapsing the JCPOA and instigating war with Iran, the work needs to begin now in order to rein in the White House and prevent a disastrous war. In this context, a top priority must be to signal that there is political will in Washington to re-enter the JCPOA.”

Warning of the impact of American punitive action on Iranian politics, the report points out: “The current supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, is also 79 years old and Iran’s various factions are already jockeying over his potential successor.