With US President Donald Trump’s deadline for amending the Iran nuclear deal or walking away from it just weeks away, he spoke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone Saturday about Tehran’s malign influence on the region, the White House said on Sunday.
“The two leaders discussed the continuing threats and challenges facing the Middle East region, especially the problems posed by the Iranian regime’s destabilizing activities,” according to a White House readout of the conversation.
Earlier on Sunday, Trump’s newly-minted US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Israel on his first foreign trip. While speaking alongside Netanyahu during a joint press conference, the former CIA director said that Trump remained committed to exiting the landmark accord if changes weren’t made and that Iranian aggression against Israel — by trying to establish a military presence in Syria — was exacerbating American concerns.
“President Trump’s been pretty clear: This deal is very flawed. He’s directed the administration to try and fix it and if we can’t fix it he’s going to withdraw from the deal,” Pompeo said.
Pompeo also warned of Iran’s “destabilizing and malign activities” in the Middle East.
“We remain deeply concerned about Iran’s dangerous escalation of threats to Israel and the region and Iran’s ambition to dominate the Middle East remains,” he said.
“The United States is with Israel in this fight,” Pompeo added.
Netanyahu thanked Pompeo for his and Trump’s opposition to Iran obtaining nuclear weapons and their commitment to countering Iran’s regional “aggression.”
“That aggression has grown many folds since the signing of the Iran nuclear deal. If people thought that Iran’s aggression would be moderated as a result of signing the deal, the opposite has happened,” he said.
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