{"id":72572,"date":"2018-04-26T19:32:46","date_gmt":"2018-04-26T19:32:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/04\/26\/mattis-says-iran-nuclear-deal-includes-robust-verification\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T07:54:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T07:54:24","slug":"mattis-says-iran-nuclear-deal-includes-robust-verification","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/04\/26\/mattis-says-iran-nuclear-deal-includes-robust-verification\/","title":{"rendered":"Mattis says Iran nuclear deal includes \u2018robust\u2019 verification"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Thursday emphasized the value of certain aspects of the Iran nuclear agreement, even as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/04\/24\/trump-warns-iran-will-pay-if-it-restarts-nuclear-program\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">President Donald Trump considers pulling out of the 2015 deal<\/a>, which he has attacked repeatedly and this week called \u201cinsane.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Without explicitly giving his opinion about whether the United States should stick with the agreement, Mattis said that after reading the full text of the deal three times, he was struck by provisions that allow for international verification of Iran\u2019s compliance. He said that since becoming defense secretary in January 2017, he also has read what he called a classified protocol in the agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI will say it is written almost with an assumption that<a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/03\/04\/iran-says-will-negotiate-if-west-dismantles-nuclear-arsenal\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\"> Iran would try to cheat<\/a>,\u201d he said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. \u201cSo the verification, what is in there, is actually pretty robust as far as our intrusive ability to get in\u201d with representatives of the International Atomic Energy Agency to check on compliance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhether that is sufficient I think is a valid question,\u201d he said after Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, said the nuclear deal was not supported by the Congress. The committee\u2019s senior Democrat, Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, told Mattis the Iran deal is \u201cworking as intended\u201d and that withdrawing would ease Iran\u2019s path to nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link smg-interstitial-link--fallback wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2017\/09\/27\/iran-points-at-us-and-warns-of-a-new-nuclear-arms-race\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__fallback-link\">Iran points at US and warns of a new nuclear arms race<\/a><\/aside>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mattis said Iran\u2019s history of hiding a nuclear weapons program makes it \u201csuspect,\u201d and he noted his concern about other Iranian activities, including its role in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/flashpoints\/2018\/04\/04\/white-house-says-syria-mission-coming-to-a-rapid-end\/\" title=\"\" class=\"\" target=\"_blank\">supporting Syria\u2019s president<\/a>, Bashar Assad, and supplying its proxy forces in Yemen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Pentagon chief said the administration was still considering whether the nuclear deal can be improved enough to persuade Trump it is worth preserving. \u201cIt\u2019s going on today as we speak,\u201d he said of the consultations. Trump has said he will decide by May 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mattis reiterated his view that the deal is \u201cimperfect\u201d and said \u201cthere are obviously aspects of the agreement that can be improved upon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The question being discussed within the administration, and between the U.S. and its European allies, he said, is \u201cwhether we can repair it enough to stay in it or if the president is going to decide to withdraw from it.\u201d He said Trump has not yet made a decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18116524213989.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-46817\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18116524213989.jpg.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18116524213989.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18116524213989.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Defense Secretary Jim Mattis smiles as he arrives to testify on the Department of Defense budget posture, during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Thursday, April 26, 2018, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (\/Jacquelyn Martin\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After meeting with Trump at the White House this week, French President Emmanuel Macron made clear that France would not follow the U.S. lead if Trump decides to withdraw from the agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe signed it at the initiative of the United States. We signed it, both the United States and France,\u201d Macron said Wednesday. \u201cThat is why we cannot say we should get rid of it like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Macron later told French reporters that he has no \u201cinside information\u201d on Trump\u2019s decision on the Iran deal but noted that it\u2019s clear the U.S. president \u201cis not very much eager to defend it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Iran\u2019s president on Wednesday ruled out any changes or additions to the accord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mattis in the past has said he believes the agreement is flawed but that the U.S. should stick with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He also addressed a point made by others \u2014 that withdrawing would undermine U.S. leverage and credibility in coming talks with North Korea about eliminating its nuclear weapons. Mattis said he does not see this as the most important consideration with Iran, given that North Korea\u2019s leader, Kim Jong Un, has been consistently unreliable in honoring any agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn light of Kim\u2019s family and himself breaking every international treaty, every agreement, they\u2019ve ever made\u201d \u2014 whether with South Korea or the United States \u2014 \u201cI\u2019m less concerned with that ripple effect right now,\u201d Mattis said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think we need to focus on what is in the best interest of Middle East stability and the threat that Iran poses\u201d with its potential to resume a nuclear weapons program, he said. In this context, he said, the administration has to weigh the impacts on Middle East stability if the Iran agreement \u201cdoes not get extended and maintain the verification \u2014 intrusive verification \u2014 that we need.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Thursday emphasized the value of certain aspects of the Iran nuclear agreement, even as President Donald Trump considers pulling out of the 2015 deal, which he has attacked repeatedly and this week called \u201cinsane.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":79999,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":10,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"4":{"categories":["flashpoints","pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"5":{"categories":["flashpoints","pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"6":{"categories":["flashpoints","pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"},"7":{"categories":["flashpoints","pentagon-congress","news","daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"flashpoints"}}},"categories":[10,15,86],"tags":[],"coauthors":[2496],"class_list":["post-72572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flashpoints","category-news","category-pentagon-congress"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"T6G7R3H3QFEWZDMHNGIFZBQJZU","arc_canonical_url":"\/flashpoints\/2018\/04\/26\/mattis-says-iran-nuclear-deal-includes-robust-verification\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented 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Thursday emphasized the value of certain aspects of the Iran nuclear agreement, even as President Donald Trump considers pulling out of the 2015 deal, which he has attacked repeatedly and this week called \u201cinsane.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/flashpoints\/2018\/04\/26\/mattis-says-iran-nuclear-deal-includes-robust-verification\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Military Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-04-26T19:32:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T07:54:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Robert Burns, The Associated Press\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Robert Burns, The Associated Press\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta 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