President Trump is “prepared to potentially withdraw” from the Iran nuclear deal if changes to the agreement aren’t made, White House principal deputy press secretary Raj Shah said Monday.
“[Trump] thinks it’s one of the worst agreements the United States has ever made internationally. He is insistent on changes both at the congressional level working with Congress and also with our European partners,” Shah told reporters during the White House press briefing. “If changes aren’t made, the president is prepared to potentially withdraw from the agreement.”
The president has promised to leave the Iran deal, negotiated by then-President Barack Obama’s administration in 2015, by mid-May. The U.S. is now working with Britain, France, and Germany to address Trump’s issues with the accord.
Trump’s desires to leave the nuclear deal will likely be bolstered by his incoming national security adviser, John Bolton, who will replace outgoing national security adviser H.R. McMaster in April.
McMaster and outgoing Secretary of State Rex Tillerson were proponents of remaining in the deal.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the foreign ministers of France and Germany he predicts “with high probability” Trump will pull out of the Iran nuclear deal in May, according to Israel’s Channel 10 News.
Shah, however, would not confirm whether Trump will kill the deal.
