President Donald Trump received a lifeline from French President Emmanuel Macron, who on Tuesday said his nation was prepared to begin work on a second nuclear deal with Iran.
Macron said he hopes the current agreement—known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)—would remain in place as a “pillar” of a new deal, but acknowledged that it is ultimately President Trump’s responsibility.
The current pact with Iran is next up for re-certification on May 12, and President Trump has given every indication that he plans to pull the US out of the deal unless it is changed.
The last time the administration certified agreement, in January, Trump warned that it would be the last time. And just hours before Macron’s remarks, Trump told reporters he thought the JCPOA is “insane.”
“Nobody knows what I’m going to do on the twelfth,” Trump later said, adding the caveat that President Macron does actually know what Trump is planning to do next month.
“We’ll see 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,” the US president added.
Macron detailed that a new deal would address not just Iran’s short-term nuclear program as the JCPOA focuses on, but also long-term nuclear ambitions, ballistic missile testing, and Tehran’s political influence in Syria and the rest of the region.
The French President’s overture comes as the US under Trump finds itself increasingly isolated from the other six nations involved in approving the 2015 agreement, including France, the UK, China, Russia, and Germany.
“It is about making sure that we’re each taking into account the position and the interests of our reciprocal countries,” Macron said, justifying his calls for a new deal.
Macron is in Washington for two days of talks with the Trump administration on topics ranging from the fate of the JCPOA to the civil war in Syria to trade and climate change.
Over in the Senate, meanwhile, another ally in Trump’s bid unwind the Iran agreement, CIA Director Mike Pompeo moved one step closer to confirmation as the nation’s next Secretary of State.
In a vote on Monday night, the Senate Foreign Relations advanced Pompeo’s nomination after Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) backed off his pledge to oppose the nominee.
Democrats could have still delayed Pompeo’s approval by the committee because Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) was absent from the vote. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) , however, changed his vote from no to present in order to accommodate the missing Republican.
Pompeo will next be considered before the full Senate, where his confirmation is likely. He is expected to receive support from at least two Democrats, Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.).
