Trump plans to start unraveling Iran nuclear pact, insiders say

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump plans to deliver a harsh critique of Iran in a speech Friday declaring that the Iran nuclear deal is not in America’s national security interests, according to officials and outside advisers to the administration.

Trump’s speech from the White House will outline faults he finds in the 2015 accord but will also focus on an array of Iran’s troubling non-nuclear activities, advisers said. Those include Tehran’s ballistic missile program, support for Syrian President Bashar Assad, Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement and other groups that destabilize the region.

Under U.S. law, Trump faces a Sunday deadline to notify Congress whether Iran is complying with the accord that was negotiated over 18 months by the Obama administration and determine if it remains a national security priority.