Trump to Make Announcement on Iran Nuclear Deal Today
In a tweet Monday, President Trump said: "I will be announcing my decision on the Iran deal tomorrow from the White House at 2:00 pm."
I will be announcing my decision on the Iran Deal tomorrow from the White House at 2:00pm.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 7, 2018
He faces a self-imposed May 12 deadline to decide whether to uphold the 2015 nuclear deal, which he long has criticised or back out of it.
"It's a horrible agreement for the United States," Trump said at a recent press conference.
The deal froze Iran's nuclear program in exchange for an end to economic sanctions on Tehran.
But it allows Iran to re-start the program in eight years with a pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons.
The president has signaled he will pull out of the agreement by the deadline unless it is revised.
However, he faces intense pressure from European allies not to do so.
Leaders of France, Germany, and England have all recently visited the White House to lobby the president to fix the deal but not leave it.
Domestic critics say he's against it because it's part of President Obama's legacy.
"Because he wants to, he wants to show that he can be tougher and that he can negotiate a different deal," said Rob Malley, former U.S. negotiator of the Iran nuclear deal.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry has been working with Europeans against leaving the deal.
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!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 7, 2018
The president tweeted that he should butt out saying, "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."
Last week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of lying about its nuclear weapons program. He called on the president to do the right thing.
"The right thing for the United States, the right thing for Israel," Netanyahu said
Iran's president Hassan Rouhani warned the country could face "some problems" ahead of Trump's decision on whether to pull out of its nuclear deal.
Rouhani also stressed Iran wants to keep "working with the world and constructive engagement with the world."
That appeared to be a nod to Europe, which has struck a series of business deals with Iran since the landmark 2015 nuclear deal.
Meanwhile, some national security experts and the Europeans are advocating for a so-called "soft exit" by slowly reimposing sanctions over time.
