President Trump Is Expected to Decertify the Iran Nuclear Deal, U.S. Official Says

President Trump Is Expected to Decertify the Iran Nuclear Deal, U.S. Official Says Ā· Fortune

President Donald Trump is expected to announce soon that he will decertify the landmark international deal to curb Iranā€™s nuclear program, a senior administration official said on Thursday, in a step that potentially could cause the 2015 accord to unravel.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Trump is also expected to roll out a broader U.S. strategy on Iran that would be more confrontational. The Trump administration has frequently criticized Iranā€™s conduct in the Middle East.

Trump, who has called the pact an ā€œembarrassmentā€ and ā€œthe worst deal ever negotiated,ā€ has been weighing whether it serves U.S. security interests as he faces an Oct. 15 deadline for certifying that Iran is complying with its terms.

ā€œWe must not allow Iran ā€¦ to obtain nuclear weapons,ā€ Trump said during a meeting with military leaders at the White House on Thursday, adding:

ā€œThe Iranian regime supports terrorism and exports violence, bloodshed and chaos across the Middle East. That is why we must put an end to Iranā€™s continued aggression and nuclear ambitions. They have not lived up to the spirit of their agreement.ā€

Asked about his decision on whether to certify the landmark deal, Trump said: ā€œYouā€™ll be hearing about Iran very shortly.ā€

Supporters say its collapse could trigger a regional arms race and worsen Middle East tensions, while opponents say it went too far in easing sanctions without requiring that Iran end its nuclear program permanently.

Iranian authorities have repeatedly said Tehran would not be the first to violate the accord, under which Iran agreed to restrict its nuclear program in return for lifting most international sanctions that had crippled its economy.

If Trump declines to certify Iranā€™s compliance, U.S. congressional leaders would have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions on Tehran suspended under the agreement.

Whether Congress would be willing to reimpose sanctions is far from clear. While Republicans, and some Democrats, opposed the deal when it was approved in 2015, there is little obvious appetite in Congress for dealing with the Iran issue now.

The prospect that Washington could renege on the pact, which was signed by the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, the European Union and Iran, has worried some of the U.S. allies that helped negotiate it.

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ā€œWe, the Europeans, we have hammered this: the agreement is working,ā€ said a European diplomat who asked to remain anonymous. ā€œWe as Europeans, have repeated ā€¦ itā€™s impossible to reopen the agreement. Period. Itā€™s impossible.ā€