Pompeo Emphasizes the Need to 'Revise' the Nuclear Agreement with Iran in Senate Committee

Mike Pompeo, the nominee for U.S. Secretary of State, emphasized the necessity of 'revising' the flaws of the JCPOA, the nuclear agreement with Iran, during a Senate committee meeting on Thursday, April 12. Mr. Pompeo also refrained from providing a direct and clear answer to a question regarding the 'unilateral' withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA. On Thursday, Pompeo appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to answer questions from senators who are set to vote on his appointment to this new position. In March 2018, following the dismissal of Rex Tillerson from the position of Secretary of State, he was introduced by Donald Trump to Congress as Tillerson's successor. A significant portion of this Q&A session in the U.S. Senate was dedicated to discussing the JCPOA and the economic situation in Iran. During this session, Democratic Senator Ben Cardin asked Pompeo for his opinion on the 'unilateral' U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA. Pompeo, who is still serving as the head of the CIA until confirmed by Congress, avoided a direct answer regarding the withdrawal from the JCPOA and instead repeatedly emphasized the need to 'revise' this nuclear agreement. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, has been a serious critic of the JCPOA since the beginning of his 2016 election campaign and has continued to maintain his criticisms. Following these criticisms, two months ago, Trump set a deadline for addressing the 'flaws' he identified in the JCPOA and threatened that without addressing them, he would not extend the lifting of sanctions on Iran and would withdraw from the nuclear agreement. This deadline ends on May 12, 2018. According to the committee session transcript, following Pompeo's response, Senator Cardin reiterated his question: 'If we cannot fix the JCPOA, is it better for us to withdraw from an agreement that Iran is adhering to, or is it better to stay in it?' Pompeo, who opposed the agreement as a U.S. Congressman in 2015 when it was signed, responded somewhat evasively that even if the JCPOA is not revised, the U.S. must strive to cooperate with its allies. He stated, 'If we conclude that we cannot fix this agreement,... then everyone, including myself, will make recommendations to the President.' He continued, '... and if there is no chance to fix the JCPOA, I will recommend to the President that we try as hard as we can to reach a better outcome and a better agreement with our allies.' According to Trump, 'the wavelength' he and Pompeo share regarding the JCPOA is the same, and the disagreement over whether to continue or not to endorse the JCPOA was cited as one of the reasons for Tillerson's dismissal last March. According to Reuters, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis also emphasized the same point as Pompeo on Thursday during his appearance in another Senate committee, stating that the JCPOA must be revised. In another part of this Senate session, Pompeo described the Iranian economy as 'very weak,' referring to the rising price of the dollar in Iran and the economic situation of the people in the country. According to the nominee for Secretary of State, referencing the '58,000 rial' dollar in the Iranian market, the 'economic failures' of the current Iranian government have 'exasperated the people [of Iran].' Following the surge in the prices of foreign currencies in the Iranian free market, where the price of each U.S. dollar reached a new record of over six thousand tomans in one day, Hassan Rouhani's government announced this week that it would now offer a single exchange rate dollar at the price of 4,200 tomans. However, despite the government's promise, currency traders in Iran say that the currency market is not very active and that dollars at this price have not been distributed by the government. In a statement read at the beginning of the session, Pompeo noted that if confirmed by the Senate, he would discuss the JCPOA with U.S. allies at the upcoming G7 summit and NATO meeting scheduled for this month. On Thursday, Pompeo also answered numerous questions regarding Russia and allegations of its interference in the U.S. presidential election, as well as the issue of North Korea and its nuclear activities. He emphasized that he is not seeking 'regime change' in North Korea.