National security adviser H. R. McMaster on Thursday said President Trump is weighing Iran’s nuclear deal as part of an overall strategy based on…
National security adviser H. R. McMaster on Thursday said President Trump is weighing Iran’s nuclear deal as part of an overall strategy based on curtailing the country’s “destabilizing” actions in the Middle East.
McMaster on NBC’s “Today” said he wouldn’t comment on whether Trump would withdraw from the accord, “but when the announcement is made it will fit into a fundamentally sound and broad strategy aimed at addressing Iran’s destabilizing behavior and prioritizing and protecting America’s vital interests.”
Echoing Trump’s comments at the United Nations General Assembly that Iran is a “reckless regime” that vows to destroy America and Israel, McMaster said the administration is looking at the 2015 agreement as part of a “broader Iran strategy.”
“It’s really about how our approach to this deal fits into a broader Iran strategy, to address what Iran is doing, which is immeshing the greater Middle East in conflict, helping to perpetuate this really humanitarian political catastrophe from Lebanon to Syria to Iraq to Yemen,” he said.
Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he has made a decision on the deal that former President Obama brokered with Iran and Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany, adding “I’ll let you know what the decision is” later.
The president has railed against the accord that removes crippling sanctions against Iran in exchange for Tehran reducing its nuclear capability “as one of the worst and most one-sided transactions” and hinted during his UN speech that he would pull out of the agreement with it comes up for re-certification on Oct. 15.
