WASHINGTON: The Trump administration is working with key lawmakers on a legislative fix that could enable the United States to remain in the Iran nuclear deal, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said The changes to the US law codifying America's participation the 2015 agreement could come as early as next week or shortly thereafter, Tillerson said in an interview with The Associated Press.
President Donald Trump faces a series of deadlines in the coming days about how to proceed with an accord he describes as terrible and too soft on Iran. While the talks involving administration officials and members of Congress wouldn't strengthen any restrictions on Iran's nuclear activity, as Trump also wants, they could result in face-saving measures that would persuade him to stay in the deal.
"The president said he is either going to fix it or cancel it," Tillerson told the AP as he sat in front of a fireplace in his State Department office suite. "We are in the process of trying to deliver on the promise he made to fix it." In a wide-ranging interview, Tillerson also chastised the European Union for failing to voice support for protesters in Iran. On North Korea, the former Exxon Mobil CEO said rare talks next week between South Korea and the North about the Olympics could offer clues about Pyongyang's willingness to discuss broader issues, including its nuclear weapons.
Trump hasn't made a decision about what he'll do on Iran next week, when he must decide yet again whether to certify Tehran's compliance with the nuclear pact and continue granting its economy relief from years-old US sanctions. In October, Trump declined to certify Iran's compliance, saying the sanctions relief was disproportionate to Iran's concessions and that the agreement wasn't in America's national interests.
Nonetheless, Trump waived the sanctions for another three months. And he left the ultimate decision on staying in or quitting the deal for later while urging Congress to change the U.S. law concerning the certification. Trump's aides have said the president loathes having to give a thumbs-up to Iran every three months.
Tillerson said the administration was speaking with congressional leaders "on a very active basis" about a fix. He suggested Trump might be inclined to preserve the deal by waiving sanctions again on January 12 if there were signs Congress would act in short order.
"I don't want to suggest we're across the finish line on anything yet," Tillerson said.
Getting agreement in Congress on such a short timeline would be extremely challenging. A congressional aide confirmed there has been significant progress in discussions between key lawmakers and the administration, but the aide said negotiations haven't started on a specific text.