WASHINGTON: Donald Trump said in a tweet that he will announce a “decision” on the Iran nuclear deal at 2pm today (Tuesday) at the White House.
Trump had faced a deadline of Saturday 12 May to rectify the deal. Trump has signaled he will pull out of the agreement by the deadline unless it is revised, but he faces intense pressure from European allies not to do so. Earlier on Monday the British foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, used an appearance on Fox & Friends to appeal to Trump not to withdraw from the pact.
“The president is right to see flaws in [the deal] and he set a very reasonable challenge to the world,” said Johnson, arguing that the US should work with France, Germany, the UK and others to improve the deal, which was signed by the Obama administration in 2015.
“He said: ‘Look, Iran is behaving badly, has a tendency to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles. We’ve got to stop that. We’ve got to push back on what Iran is doing in the region. We’ve got to be tougher.’”
The Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, suggested Iran could remain in the pact if the US dropped out. Speaking live on state TV, Rouhani said “getting rid of America’s mischievous presence will be fine for Iran” if other signatories continued to be committed.
Earlier on Monday, Trump criticized John Kerry after reports that the former secretary of state has been promoting the Iran nuclear deal.
Trump said on Twitter: “The United States does not need John Kerry’s possibly illegal Shadow Diplomacy on the very badly negotiated Iran Deal. He was the one that created this MESS in the first place!”
Kerry, who was also the lead negotiators for the Obama administration on the Paris climate accord, has been promoting both agreements since he left office.
