The US Secretary of Defense James Mattis hinted on the perspectives of the Iran nuclear deal on the Senate hearing on October 3rd. On Thursday, Donald Trump has discussed this issue with the military leaders and expressed his own vision of this aspect of foreign policy.
The future of the Iranian nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is on the agenda of Donald Trump who has threatened to abandon it. In fact, James Mattis has no formal say in the final decision on JCPOA, the US Secretary of Defense revealed how the presidential office might work to increase pressure on Iran while remaining party to the JCPOA.
During his address at the meeting with senior US military officials on October 5, Donald Trump stressed that Iran has not lived up to the “spirit” of the international agreement. After it, the president told reporters:
‘We must not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons,’
and added that the Iranian regime supports terrorism, bloodshed and intensifies a chaos across the Middle East region.
‘That is why we must put an end to Iran’s continued aggression and nuclear ambitions,’
the US President concluded.
The Iranian issue is a headache for the United States for many years, and if the Trump administration chose to decertify the nuclear deal, Congress would have 60 days to decide whether to re-impose sanctions on Iran, which would effectively end the deal.
Whatever the presidential office decides, the US will continue to pressure Iran through sanctions not related to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and by responding harshly to any Iranian military provocation in the Middle East.
