Trump leans toward ending Iran deal

encourage Tehran to resume its now-blocked nuclear program. U.S. and European diplomats have met several times to negotiate possible supplemental agreements to address Trump’s concerns.

Merkel and Trump clearly did not see eye to eye Friday on the wisdom of pulling out of the nuclear deal.

“I set out my position, and … obviously, this agreement is anything but perfect,” Merkel said at a joint news conference. “It will not solve all the problems with Iran. It is one piece of the mosaic, one building block, if you like, on which we can build up this structure.

“We will now see what sort of decisions are made by (the) American partners,” she said.

Trump repeated his characterization of the Islamic Republic as a “murderous regime” that is the driving force behind militant groups across the Middle East.

Trump would not say whether he had an alternative to the nuclear deal or whether he would use force to stop Tehran from resuming its nuclear program.

“I don’t talk about whether or not I’d use military force. That’s not appropriate to be talking about,” he said. “But, I can tell you this, they will not be doing nuclear weapons; that I can tell you, OK? They’re not going to be doing nuclear weapons. You can bank on it.”

Merkel met with Trump two days after French President Emmanuel Macron made a similar pitch during a state visit. The United States, Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China signed the nuclear deal with Iran in 2015, and United Nations monitors have repeatedly found Iran in compliance with its terms.

Under the accord, Iran destroyed or dismantled the bulk of its nuclear infrastructure and shipped its nuclear fuel out of the country under strict monitoring. In exchange, a network of international economic sanctions was eased and seized property, including cash held in U.S. banks, was returned to Tehran.

Trump and other critics say the accord is deficient because it lets some of the nuclear restrictions on Iran expire over time. They also complain that the nuclear negotiations did not address Iran’s ballistic missile program or its support for militant groups.

Merkel noted Iran had permitted frequent inspections by U.N. monitors.

Merkel and Trump also discussed NATO and tariffs he plans to impose on steel and aluminum producers, chief among them Germany.