U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis testifies before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the Political and Security Situation in Afghanistan on Capitol Hill in Washington U.S. October 3 2017
WASHINGTON (Reuters) OCT. 3, 2017 - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said on Tuesday the United States should consider staying in the Iran nuclear deal unless it were proven Tehran that was not abiding by the agreement or that it was not in the U.S. national interest to do so.
Mattis said he supported U.S. President Donald Trump’s review of the agreement curbing Iran’s nuclear program.
Trump is weighing whether the deal serves U.S. security interests as he faces a mid-October deadline for certifying that Iran is complying with the pact, a decision that could sink an agreement strongly supported by the other powers that negotiated it.
“If we can confirm that Iran is living by the agreement, if we can determine that this is in our best interest, then clearly we should stay with it,” Mattis told a Senate hearing.
The White House had no immediate comment on Mattis’ remarks, which once again highlighted the range of views on key policy issues within the Trump administration.
If Trump does not recertify by Oct. 15 that Iran is in compliance with the agreement, Congress would have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions on Tehran suspended under the accord.
That would let Congress, controlled by Trump’s fellow Republicans, effectively decide whether to kill the deal. Although congressional leaders have declined to say whether they would seek to reimpose sanctions, Republican lawmakers were united in their opposition to the deal reached by Democratic former President Barack Obama.
Mattis said he supported U.S. President Donald Trump’s review of the agreement curbing Iran’s nuclear program.
Trump is weighing whether the deal serves U.S. security interests as he faces a mid-October deadline for certifying that Iran is complying with the pact, a decision that could sink an agreement strongly supported by the other powers that negotiated it.
“If we can confirm that Iran is living by the agreement, if we can determine that this is in our best interest, then clearly we should stay with it,” Mattis told a Senate hearing.
The White House had no immediate comment on Mattis’ remarks, which once again highlighted the range of views on key policy issues within the Trump administration.
If Trump does not recertify by Oct. 15 that Iran is in compliance with the agreement, Congress would have 60 days to decide whether to reimpose sanctions on Tehran suspended under the accord.
That would let Congress, controlled by Trump’s fellow Republicans, effectively decide whether to kill the deal. Although congressional leaders have declined to say whether they would seek to reimpose sanctions, Republican lawmakers were united in their opposition to the deal reached by Democratic former President Barack Obama.
U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis
Last month, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani said the nuclear accord cannot be renegotiated.
Trump has said he has made a decision on what to do about the agreement but has not said what he has decided.
The prospect of Washington reneging on the agreement has worried some U.S. partners that helped negotiate it, especially as the world grapples with North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile development.
The deal was signed by Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran, Russia and the United States.
White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster has defended Trump’s criticism of the deal, saying it had the “fatal flaw” of a ‘sunset clause,’ under which some of the deal’s restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program expire from 2025
The prospect of Washington reneging on the agreement has worried some U.S. partners that helped negotiate it, especially as the world grapples with North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile development.
The deal was signed by Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran, Russia and the United States.
White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster has defended Trump’s criticism of the deal, saying it had the “fatal flaw” of a ‘sunset clause,’ under which some of the deal’s restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program expire from 2025
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