President Trump Won't Certify Iran Deal, Threatens To Withdraw Entirely

WASHINGTON, DC — President Trump unveiled new sanctions against Iran Friday and blasted the Obama-era nuclear arms deal with the country, saying that he will not certify the agreement going forward because he thinks it is flawed. Unless Congress fixes it, the United States may withdraw entirely from the accord, which key European allies said is important to stop another conflict in the Middle East.

Trump said he "cannot and will not make this certification" that Iran is in compliance with the terms of the deal reached with world powers. The administration, he said, will work closely with Congress to address the deal's "many flaws" and to make sure the country can never threaten the United States with nuclear weapons.

"The flaws in the deal ... include insufficient enforcement and near-total silence on Iran's missile programs," he said. Trump asked Congress to add new provisions to the deal that further restrict Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles. (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Watch: Rep. Pelosi Slams Trump's Iran Move

Even if the United States remains in the deal, it makes the world immediately less stable, according to world leaders who worry Trump's actions Friday could send a signal to North Korea that the administration is unwilling to negotiate, isolate America and strengthen economic rivals China and Russia.

Trump repeatedly said during the 2016 presidential campaign that he would end the deal, which he says is entirely one-sided. Many of his top advisers, however, including Secretary of Defense James Matties and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, have supported staying in the deal, and they believe violating its terms undermines U.S. interests.

New sanctions will target the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of the the Iranian armed forces. Trump did not call for renewing the sanctions that led to the nuclear deal itself, which were crafted in conjunction with other countries around the world. Any decision to re-impose nuclear-related sanctions would automatically kill America's participation in the deal.

The new designation uses existing sanctions authority created by an executive order in 2001. The Treasury Department says the penalties are punishment for supporting the Quds force, an expeditionary unit of the Revolutionary Guard. The Treasury Department also says the Revolutionary Guard has supported lethal activities by Hezbollah and Hamas, and enabled Syrian President Bashar Assad's "relentless campaign of brutal violence against his own people."

But the United States is not adding the Revolutionary Guard to the formal U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations. That step would force the U.S. to take even further steps against the Revolutionary Guard that Tillerson says could be problematic.

Trump has long been a critic of President Obama's deal with Iran to limit the country's ability to develop nuclear weapons. Critics say the agreement went too easy on Iran, which still has ties to terrorist organizations and continues to develop ballistic missiles.

Most experts believe that Iran is in compliance with the deal and is not working to develop nuclear weapons, despite its continued work on missiles.

Trump added that if Congress is not able to create tighter restrictions on Iran's nuclear program, he may withdraw from the deal entirely. Trump's move is essentially a compromise that allows him to condemn the accord but stop short of torpedoing it.

You can watch a replay of Trump's remarks below.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Write a letter to the editor of the White House Patch.

Like us on Facebook.

Follow us on Twitter.

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images