Trump open to new deal to constrain Iran
Donald Trump, hosting French President Emanuel Macron, assails Iran nuclear agreement in its current form.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signaled Tuesday that he was open to a new arrangement with European allies that would preserve the Iran nuclear agreement by expanding and extending its terms to further constrain Tehran’s development of weapons and destabilizing activities in the Middle East.
Hosting President Emmanuel Macron of France at the White House, Trump made no commitment, however, leaving it open whether he will pull out of the agreement by a May 12 deadline.
“Nobody knows what I’m going to do on the 12th, although Mr. President, you have a pretty good idea,” he said, turning to Macron, who winked at him in silent reply. “But we’ll see. But we’ll see also if I do what some people expect, whether or not it will be possible to do a new deal with solid foundations. Because this is a deal with decayed foundations . ... It should have never, ever been made.”
Trump signaled more optimism about a possible accord with North Korea in advance of a summit meeting anticipated to take place by early June. He even praised its leader, Kim Jong Un, in unusually positive terms.
“We’re having very, very good discussions,” Trump said. “Kim Jong Un, he really has been very open and I think very honorable from everything we’re seeing.”
One of Macron’s goals in visiting Washington was to persuade Trump not to scrap the Iran nuclear deal while U.S. and European negotiators seek to create side agreements intended to further restrain Tehran.
Negotiators have reached a consensus on how to punish Iran if it tests long-range ballistic missiles, but remain divided on extending the limits on its nuclear program beyond the expiration dates in the original agreement, according to people briefed on the discussions.
In his talks with Trump, Macron emphasized that, while imperfect, the Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, should not be tossed aside but instead become one pillar of a broader agreement.
Iran’s security chief, Ali Shamkhani, warned Tuesday that his country would consider leaving the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty if Trump pulls out from the separate JCPOA, which Iran signed in 2015 with President Barack Obama and the leaders of five other major powers.
The official, Ali Shamkhani, said signatories to the nonproliferation treaty have the right to leave it if they “feel their national interests are not intertwined” with the accord. “This is one possibility for the Islamic Republic,” he said during a news conference, aired on state television.
Publicly, Iranian officials have been threatening to start enriching uranium if the United States torpedoes the 2015 nuclear agreement. According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, which monitors the agreement, Iran has not violated its terms.
Iran is an early signatory of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and its leaders have often threatened to pull out of it, but have never followed up.
“What Shamkhani said is a bluff,” said Davoud Hermidas-Bavand, an Iranian professor of international law and a former diplomat. “As long as the European Union supports the nuclear deal and Russia and China are endorsing Iran and the deal, there is no point to withdraw for Iran,” he said. “Even if Iran withdraws from the deal, then Iran practically cannot go back to high enrichment of uranium simply because Iran is not allowed to do so and such a move will invite military confrontation.”
During his meeting with Macron on Tuesday, Trump warned Iran against resuming its nuclear activities if the United States does pull out. “If they restart their nuclear program, they will have bigger problems than they ever had before,” Trump said.
The comments came on a day of pomp and ceremony, as Trump rolled out the red carpet for Macron and praised their warm relationship. The two embraced warmly and kissed each other on the cheek. In one odd moment, Trump even brushed what he said was dandruff off Macron’s jacket in the Oval Office. “We have to make him perfect,” Trump said, adding, “He is perfect.”
For the first official state visit of his presidency, Trump hosted a traditional arrival ceremony on the South Lawn, complete with military bands, color guards, a fife-and-drum corps and a 21-gun salute.
“The wonderful friendship we have developed over the last year is a testament to the enduring friendship that binds our two nations,” Trump said with Macron and their wives at the ceremony. “Your visit, Mr. President, comes at a critical time for our alliance.”
He noted that the French, along with the British, had joined the United States this month in a military strike in Syria in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack blamed on the government of President Bashar Assad. He thanked Macron and the French people for “their steadfast partnership.”
Macron returned the friendly words. “It is together,” Macron said during the morning ceremony, “that we will counter the proliferation of arms of massive destruction, be it in North Korea or Iran.”
He also alluded to Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate accords, another point of tension in the relationship.
“It is together that we will be able to act effectively for our planet,” Macron said. “On this issue, we do not always agree as to the solutions, but in the end, such is the case in any family and in any friendship, and it is also where the fate of our children is at stake.”