President Trump said Thursday that Iran has violated the “spirit” of the nuclear deal his predecessor stuck with Tehran and vowed his administration would not allow the regime to continue acting aggressively in the region.
“I will say this: the Iran deal is one of the worst deals I have ever seen,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One as they traveled back to Washington from Florida, where he was visiting Hurricane Irma victims earlier in the day.
Echoing the sentiments of Secretary of State Rex Tillerson — who said Thursday morning that Iran is “clearly in default” of the Iran deal’s “expectations” — Trump said the Iranians have violated the “spirit” of the agreement but stopped short of accusing Tehran of explicitly breaking the terms of the deal.
“We are not going to stand for what they are doing,” Trump said of the Iranians.
The State Department must certify to Congress every 90 days that Iran has stayed within the parameters of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the Iran deal is formally known. The next 90-day mark will arrive in mid-October, and Trump has not yet signaled whether he will instruct Tillerson to recertify the JCPOA.
Trump told reporters on Thursday that he would not announce his decision on the agreement’s future until next month.
