WASHINGTON – President Trump will deliver an address to the nation on Friday afternoon about the United States' strategy in Iran.
The President will deliver his remarks at 12:45 p.m., EST - you can watch it live here on ClickOnDetroit.com.
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Trump to announce combative new approach to Iran
President Donald Trump will announce a combative new strategy toward Iran on Friday, publicly rejecting the United States' adherence to his predecessor's nuclear deal but stopping short, for now, of scrapping the agreement entirely.
The move to "decertify" Iran's compliance in the nuclear pact doesn't amount to ripping up the accord, as he promised to do as a candidate.
Instead, Trump will foist the agreement upon Congress, which now has 60 days to determine a path forward. Republicans and Democrats alike -- who also face upcoming battles over taxes, immigration and health care -- have shown few signs they're willing to take up another divisive issue.
If lawmakers decide to impose new punitive economic sanctions on Iran, the deal will likely fall apart. Instead, the Trump administration wants members of Congress to adopt new measures that would keep the deal intact, while spelling out parameters by which the US would impose new sanctions should Iran violate its agreements.
In a midday speech, Trump will also detail a more combative approach to Iran's ballistic missile program and its support for terrorist networks, including the possibility of new economic sanctions on individuals and entities associated with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, which provides support for a number of militant groups, including Hezbollah.
The President hopes to de-emphasize the nuclear agreement in US dealings with Iran, instead laying out a plan that "focuses on neutralizing the government of Iran's destabilizing influence and constraining its aggression, particularly its support for terrorism and militants," according to a summary of his approach distributed by the White House. Iran's destabilizing efforts in the region extend from Yemen to Syria to Saudi Arabia.
Trump has been weighing his Iran decision for weeks, and has faced intense pressure from European allies to maintain the US commitment to the accord. His national security advisers have encouraged him to avoid completely withdrawing from the agreement, which was signed by the US along with Britain, France, Germany, Russia, China, the European Union and Iran in 2015.
A complete removal of the United States from the nuclear deal would isolate the United States and provide an opening for Iran to rethink its own commitments on reducing nuclear stockpiles, some of Trump's advisers and foreign counterparts warned.