Tuesday, December 13, 2016

PM says he will pitch Trump at least 5 ways to undo Iran deal

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of Israel said he would present to President-elect Donald Trump multiple options to dismantle the Iran nuclear deal.

“There are ways, various ways of undoing it,” Netanyahu said in an interview on CBS’ “60 Minutes” broadcast Sunday. “I have about five things in my mind.” He said he would not reveal the options until he speaks with Trump once he assumes office after Jan. 20.

Netanyahu vigorously opposed the pact exchanging sanctions relief for nuclear rollback reached last year between Iran and six major powers led by the United States, saying it paved the way to an Iranian nuclear weapon. President Barack Obama pressed the deal, calling it the only viable way to keep Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Trump has said the deal is “bad” but has not committed to dismantling it. His pick for defense secretary, James Mattis, also opposed the agreement, but has said since its implementation a year ago that it should be enforced and not dismantled.

One of the challenges of dismantling the deal would be to persuade the international community to reimpose sanctions without showing that Iran is substantially violating its terms.