FOREIGN POLICY/IRAN/NATIONAL SECURITY/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Trump agreed on Monday [7-17-17] to certify again that Iran is complying with an international nuclear agreement that he has strongly criticized, but only after hours of arguing with his top national security advisers, briefly upending a planned announcement as a legal deadline loomed.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly condemned the deal brokered by President Barack Obama as a dangerous capitulation to Iran, but six months into his presidency he has not abandoned it. The decision on Monday was the second time his administration certified Iran’s compliance, and aides said a frustrated Mr. Trump had told his security team that he would not keep doing so indefinitely.
Administration officials announced the certification on Monday evening while emphasizing that they intended to toughen enforcement of the deal, apply new sanctions on Iran for its support of terrorism and other destabilizing activities, and negotiate with European partners to craft a broader strategy to increase pressure on Tehran. Aides said Mr. Trump had insisted on such actions before agreeing to the consensus recommendation of his national security team.
‘The president has made very clear that he thought this was a bad deal — a bad deal for the United States,’ Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, told reporters at a briefing on Monday before the decision was made.”
-Peter Baker, “Trump Recertifies Iran Nuclear Deal, but Only Reluctantly,” The New York Times online, July 17, 2017