Trump 'unlikely' to stay in Iran deal, says Pompeo
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.
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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.
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