Trump says he’s ‘decided’ on Iran deal

President Trump said Wednesday he has decided whether or not to pull the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal, but declined to share his decision publicly.

“I have decided,” Trump told reporters.

Pressed about his decision, the president responded, “I’ll let you know what the decision is.”

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Trump spoke during a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas at the United Nations.

The president’s comments are the clearest sign yet he is close to announcing a decision on the 2015 pact between Iran and six world powers.

Trump faces an Oct. 15 deadline to certify whether the Iranian government is honoring the terms of the deal. If he decides Tehran has violated them, Congress has 60 days to decide whether to restore sanctions related to its nuclear program that were waived under the agreement.

Trump has repeatedly bashed the Obama-era agreement as weak, saying it has allowed Iran to continue its pursuit of nuclear weapons.

“The Iran deal was one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the United States has ever entered into,” Trump said Tuesday during his first address to the U.N. General Assembly. “Frankly, that deal is an embarrassment to the United States.”

Trump has twice previously certified that Iran is abiding by the terms of the pact while his administration was locked in an internal conflict over what to do with the agreement.

The U.N.’s nuclear watchdog agency said late last month that Iran is complying with the pact.

Iran has also insisted it is living up to the terms of the deal.

“By violating its international commitments, the new U.S. administration only destroys its own credibility for future negotiations,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani tweeted in response to Trump’s comments. 

But the president has said the Iranians are in violation of the “spirit” of the agreement, due to their continued development of ballistic missiles and support of Islamic extremist groups in the Middle East.

Rouhani also lashed out at Trump.

“Destruction of #JCPOA by ‘rogue’ newcomers to the world of politics will never impede Iran’s course of progress and advancement,” he tweeted, using an acronym for the nuclear deal.

Destruction of #JCPOA by “rogue” newcomers to the world of politics will never impede Iran’s course of progress and advancement. #UNGA

— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) September 20, 2017

If Trump decides to scrap the agreement, it would please Republicans and foreign-policy hawks who have long been critical of the deal. They believe former President Obama did not extract enough concessions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief and have accused his team of misrepresenting the terms of the deal.

Leaving the pact would anger Democrats as well as key U.S. partners who helped negotiate the deal.

French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that renouncing the deal would be a “grave error” that would increase the risk of nuclear-armed conflict.

He said he relayed his concerns to Trump and Rouhani on Monday in separate meetings at the U.N.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., are expected to take part in a meeting Wednesday of foreign ministers representing nations that brokered the pact.

– This report was updated at 11:49 a.m. EST.