Trump signals openness on ‘new’ Iran deal
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signaled new willingness Tuesday to consider what visiting French President Emmanuel Macron called “a new deal with Iran” that would address shortcomings in the existing nuclear pact, even as he continued to criticize the international agreement as “insane.”
Trump also appeared to threaten a military attack if Iran menaced the United States and railed against the hundreds of billions of dollars he said the United States has wasted on Mideast wars with “less than nothing” to show for the effort.
“If Iran threatens us in any way, they will pay a price like few countries have ever paid. OK?” Trump said during a news conference with Macron.
The French president is visiting the United States this week in hopes he can convince Trump not to abandon the nuclear deal ahead of a May 12 deadline when the United States can effectively pull out of the 2015 pact among Iran and six world powers. Trump has said he would not sign another presidential endorsement of the deal, opening the door to the reimposition of U.S. sanctions unless the agreement could be amended. The White House refers to the ultimatum as “fix it or nix it.”
Macron has spent little time this week publicly defending the pact, instead focusing his efforts on appealing to Trump’s view of himself as an unorthodox dealmaker by suggesting that a supplemental agreement carrying his imprimatur could address many of the president’s criticisms of the overall deal.
“I think this is what we’ve been agreeing upon today,” Macron said. “It’s not about tearing apart an agreement and have nothing, but it’s about building something new that will cover all of our concerns.”
Macron is the emissary for a European proposal to add safeguards that address some of Trump’s main complaints about the deal reached under his predecessor, Barack Obama.
Macron described “a new deal with four pillars” covering U.S. and European concerns over whether Iran is concealing any current nuclear activities; the prospect that it might return to some activities when provisions of the deal expire in 2025; ballistic missile testing; and Iran’s alleged destabilizing activities in the Middle East.
While expressing willingness to entertain keeping the United States in the Iran deal, Trump also made clear he has little use for the agreement.
Trump and Macron’s day of meeting covered a range of topics and the French president noted they discussed climate change and the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris climate accord, but he did not give details.
Trump’s expected upcoming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was also on the agenda.
Trump described Kim as “very open and I think very honorable” in his dealings ahead of a planned summit.