President Trump is "unlikely" to stay in the Iran nuclear deal, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters Friday.
Pompeo said that Trump has not yet made a decision, but Reuters reports that he suggested major changes were necessary in order to consider staying. "There's been no decision," Pompeo reportedly said, but "absent a substantial fix, absent overcoming the flaws of the deal, he is unlikely to stay in that deal."
In the 2015 agreement, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear activities in exchange for lessened economic sanctions from six world powers. Trump called the deal "insane" and "ridiculous" earlier this week, saying it never should have been made.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
French President Emmanuel Macron urged Trump to stay in the deal during a state visit to the White House this week, but Trump's public rejection of the deal has not subsided as a result of Macron's attempted persuasion. In a Fox & Friends interview, Trump said that Macron had left the Oval Office viewing Iran "a lot differently," even though Macron himself said in a speech to Congress that France remained committed to the deal. Trump hasn't closed the door entirely to a renegotiation, but Pompeo and other State Department officials say that a withdrawal is more likely.
-
Political cartoons for December 14Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a new White House flag, Venezuela negotiations, and more
-
Heavenly spectacle in the wilds of CanadaThe Week Recommends ‘Mind-bending’ outpost for spotting animals – and the northern lights
-
Facial recognition: a revolution in policingTalking Point All 43 police forces in England and Wales are set to be granted access, with those against calling for increasing safeguards on the technology
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
-
Democrat files to impeach RFK Jr.Speed Read Rep. Haley Stevens filed articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
$1M ‘Trump Gold Card’ goes live amid travel rule furorSpeed Read The new gold card visa offers an expedited path to citizenship in exchange for $1 million
-
US seizes oil tanker off VenezuelaSpeed Read The seizure was a significant escalation in the pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
-
Miami elects first Democratic mayor in 28 yearsSpeed Read Eileen Higgins, Miami’s first woman mayor, focused on affordability and Trump’s immigration crackdown in her campaign
