Pompeo says US must fix Iran deal or seek tougher pact

US President Donald Trump’s choice for Secretary of State told senators yesterday that fixing “the flaws” in the Iran nuclear deal would be a priority for him if he is given the job.

Revising the 2015 accord was in “America’s best interest”, Mike Pompeo told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at his confirmation hearing.

The former congressman and CIA director said that if the deal could not be fixed and Mr Trump withdrew the US, he (Mr Pompeo) would advocate for a tougher accord.

“I want to fix this deal. That is the objective,” he said.

Mr Trump has cited the “sunset clause” in the current accord that limits the duration of the constraints on Iran, and the lack of curbs on its ballistic missile programme as shortcomings that he wants European allies to agree to address before a May 12 deadline.

He also called for a stronger inspections regime.

Mr Pompeo refused to speculate about Washington’s next step if this did not happen. “That’s almost a month away. It depends clearly if we’re close,” he said.

Pressed by Senator Ben Cardin on whether the US would withdraw, Mr Pompeo said: “If there’s no chance that we can fix it, I will recommend to the president that we do our level best to work with our allies to achieve a better outcome and a better deal. Even after May 12.”

He suggested withdrawing and reaching a tougher accord with Iran if the changes sought by the US were not met, saying this was Mr Trump’s vision for the current negotiations.

“The president has stated his objective, I’ve heard him say it to my predecessor, to secretary [Rex] Tillerson, I’ve heard him say it, his goal is to take the three shortcomings and fix them.”

He said Iran was not racing to attain a nuclear weapon before the deal in 2015, and there is “no indication it would race to a weapon if we leave the agreement today”.

Mr Pompeo said Iran was “on the march and has paid too low a price for its dangerous behaviour. Our administration has developed a strategy to counter Iran that will raise that cost”.

“We cannot let the nuclear file prevent us from acting against Iran’s cyber efforts or its attempts to provide missiles to the Houthis to attack Saudi Arabia and Americans who travel there.”

Iran’s activities in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon “threaten the very existence of Israel, and the global reach of Hezbollah threatens us right here in the homeland”, he said.

Mr Pompeo also took a hard line on Moscow.

“Russia continues to act aggressively, enabled by years of soft policy towards that aggression. That’s now over.” He said sanctions against Russia and the decision to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine were evidence that Mr Trump’s “national security strategy, rightfully, has identified Russia as a danger to our country”.

“The historic conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, and now Russia, is caused by Russian bad behaviour,” Mr Pompeo said.

He confirmed that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election, and said the US has an obligation to help Ukraine defend its sovereignty.

Mr Pompeo reiterated his position to qualify Wikileaks as a hostile entity, and denied he advocated regime change in North Korea.