President Trump is leaning toward decertifying the Iran nuclear deal and putting the decision of whether the U.S. will withdraw from the accord in the hands of Congress, according to four sources — including one senior administration official — familiar with the White House deliberations.
Such a move would come prior to an Oct. 15 deadline and would trigger a 60-day window for lawmakers to determine whether to reimpose sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program that were lifted as part of the 2015 agreement. The president’s goal during that time is to prod America’s European allies, who are part of the nuclear deal, to agree to renegotiate some provisions, and pressure Iran back into talks.
Still, several of the sources caution the president could change his mind over the next three weeks as he faces pushback from allies internationally.
President Trump told reporters Wednesday he has “decided” on a plan of action, but declined to provide specifics. Asked for comment, a White House spokesperson said the president will announce further details when he’s ready.
The senior administration official said the president has resolved not to continue the “status quo,” but that he’s considering at least one other option related to the deal.
That option, according to two officials, would give European allies the option of 90 days to get on board with renegotiation — rather than punt the decision to Congress. Administration officials are still in talks with those allies, and with Republicans on Capitol Hill.
The White House has not responded to a request for comment.
President Trump so far has twice recertified the Iran deal, despite vowing to end it on the campaign trail. But this week, he ratcheted up his rhetoric, calling the agreement an “embarrassment” to the United States in his speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
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The president is already facing international pressure not to withdraw. One British government official said Prime Minister Theresa May will raise her strong objections to pulling out of the joint agreement when she meets with President Trump on the sidelines of the UN meeting. The official said while the U.K., France and Germany, known as the E3, acknowledge the deal is not perfect, they believe it does reduce Iran’s pursuit of nuclear technology and aggressive actions in the region.
And President Emanuel Macron of France, in an interview with CNN, warned it would be a “big mistake” if the U.S. pulled out of the treaty.
Former Secretary of State John Kerry, who helped negotiate the deal in 2015, suggested withdrawal could send the wrong message to Pyongyang, as North Korea continues to ramp up its own nuclear program: “If you go after the Iran deal and Iran the way [President Trump] did yesterday, and you talk about throwing it out, you make your diplomatic efforts of solving North Korea far more complicated,” he told MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “What does North Korea think, looking at the way he’s talking about shredding a deal that was made?”
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The top UN inspection officials in Vienna said Iran has complied with the nuclear deal, and President Hassan Rouhani insists Iran will not renegotiate. He told NBC’s Lester Holt “no one will trust America” again if President Trump backs out of the agreement.
But Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in an interview with Fox News, said the president believes the Iranian deal “is not a stiff enough agreement, it doesn’t slow their program enough and holding them accountable is difficult under the agreement.”
Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, said Wednesday that Iran is observing the terms of the nuclear deal, and that it’s the U.S.’s job to live up to the agreement as well. But he also said Iran is “rapidly deploying and developing a whole series of ballistic missiles” that concern the U.S. and its allies. “Why are they doing that? To challenge the United States and our allies down the road,” said Hyten. “We have to figure out to respond.”
The so-called “sunset provisions” in the nuclear agreement are a particular sticking point. Those clauses allow some of the deal’s restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program to wind down over time.
The White House is also pushing for tougher inspections on Iranian nuclear sites, which would require UN and European support.