President Donald Trump reportedly plans to recertify Iranian compliance with the Iran nuclear deal – a pact he vowed to "dismantle" during his campaign.
The Weekly Standard, citing four unnamed sources, said Trump will make the formal move before a congressionally mandated deadline Monday. Under the nuclear deal brokered during the Obama administration, the State Department must notify Congress every 90 days on Iran's compliance to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Trump's decision means there will be continued sanctions relief to Iran — and comes amid an internal debate about recertification, The Weekly Standard reported.
Despite a speech before AIPAC in March 2016, where Trump said his "number one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran," aides told The Weekly Standard the president's support is grudging – and he could change his mind before the deadline.
According to The Weekly Standard, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has been the leading advocate for recertifying the deal, which is also backed by Secretary of Defense James Mattis. White House strategist Steve Bannon has argued for abandoning the pact and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, an outspoken critic of the deal when he was in Congress, "remains skeptical."
Four Republican senators also wrote Trump in an effort to persuade him Tuesday to decline to recertify, The Washington Times reported.
But the "real battle over recertification" will take place after a review that is currently underway and the next recertification deadline, in mid-October, The Weekly Standard reported.
"In the meantime, Iran hawks have their eyes on Boeing's deals to supply leading Iranian airlines with new airplanes — deals valued at more than $22 billion," the outlet reported.
"The Treasury Department has final approval over these kinds of deals with Iran, and some members of the Trump administration hope that Secretary Steve Mnuchin will use this authority to scuttle those agreements."
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