US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo stated during a news conference in Brussels on Friday that the deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), will be addressed during his upcoming trip to the Middle East.
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"With respect to the JCPOA we talked about it some today," Pompeo said after a meeting of NATO ministers in Brussels. "I am confident that that will be a topic on my trip throughout the Middle East as well. Not only the concerns that President Trump has expressed consistently, but talking about ways to potentially address those shortcomings that may find a potential solution to the very flaws that President Trump has identified for a long time now… There has been no decision made."
However, he went on saying that the United States is likely to walk away from the international deal on Iran's nuclear program next month unless the flaws in the agreement are addressed.
"Absent a substantial fix, absent overcoming the shortcomings, the flaws of the deal, he is unlikely to stay in that deal past this May," Pompeo said.
Trump has repeatedly criticized the nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which put restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear research in exchange for sanctions relief. Tehran, in its turn, reacted saying that the country will withdraw from the agreement in case if changes are made.
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In January, Trump asked the US Congress and European Union allies to address "flaws" in the agreement. The United States is expected to announce whether it will extend US sanctions waivers for Iran on May 12.
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