Identifying the “sunset clause” as the key sticking point in the Iran nuclear deal, US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has expressed the view that the 2015 deal negotiated by the Obama administration and five major world powers with Tehran will have to be “revisited”.
“The President really wants to redo that deal. He said renegotiate it. We do need the support, I think, of our allies – the European allies and others – to make the case as well to Iran that this deal really has to be revisited,” Tillerson said in an interview to Fox News.
Hours after President Donald Trump’s address at the United Nations in which he denounced the Iran deal as “an embarrassment to the United States”, Tillerson told the news channel that changes will have to be made, particularly with the “sunset clause” that automatically lifts most key restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme by 2030.
“If we’re going to stick with the Iran deal, there has to be changes made to it. The sunset provision simply is not a sensible way forward. It’s just simply kicking the can down the road again for someone in the future to deal with,” he said.
Stating that President Trump “takes his responsibilities seriously”, Tillerson said: “That’s why he’s giving very, very careful consideration as to what’s the best way to address that issue.”
As Tillerson put it, President Trump’s assessment is that “it’s not a stiff enough agreement” as it does not slow Iran’s nuclear programme enough and holding them accountable is difficult under the agreement.
Asked about Iran’s own signals that it might just tear up the agreement if there’s any effort by others to renegotiate or change it at this point, the Secretary of State commented: “If the Iranians tear it up and walk away, then under the terms of the agreement, all of the sanctions, both American and European, snap back into place.”