“You can mark it down. If they restart their nuclear program they will have bigger problems than they ever had before,” the president said. Trump blasted the nuclear agreement during an Oval Office meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, who is seeking to convince the U.S. president to remain in the pact.
Trump left the door open to remaining in the 2015 deal, even though he reiterated his belief it is “terrible.”
“It was a terrible deal. It should have never, ever been made,” the president said. “We made this terrible deal but we’re going to discuss it.”
Later Tuesday, Trump appeared to suggest he might accept fixes to the deal rather than exit it entirely.
"We're looking forward to doing something but it has to be done and it has to be done strongly," he said without explanation," Trump said. "We're fairly close to understanding each other. Our one on one went very well."
The comments revealed the sharp policy disagreements between Trump and Macron, despite their budding personal friendship.
Macron and other European leaders want Trump to remain in the Iran deal, calling it the best hope to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
They fear that if Trump refuses to extend sanctions relief, it could torpedo the deal and Iran could resume its nuclear activities. The president faces a May 12 deadline to make a decision.
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