WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States will announce its decision on recertifying the Iran nuclear deal January 12, US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Steve Goldstein said in a briefing on Tuesday.
"Secretary [of State Rex Tillerson] will be meeting with President [Donald Trump] and [Defense] Secretary [James] Mattis. And we’d expect the decision [on the waiver] on Friday," Goldstein told journalists.
In October, Trump refused to certify that Iran was in compliance with the agreement but stopped short of pulling the United States out of the pact, which also includes the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, France, China.
Trump now faces a January 13 deadline on recertifying the deal, with US officials predicting the president will again refuse to certify Iran’s compliance, while some expect Trump to take an additional step of imposing new sanctions on Tehran. The president also faces a series of deadlines this month on whether to extend sanctions waivers.