Trump at Joint Press Conference with Merkel: Iran Will Not Acquire Nuclear Weapons

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump, during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel at the White House, promised that Iran would not acquire nuclear weapons. He stated, "We must ensure that this murderous regime will not even come close to nuclear weapons." According to CBS News, the U.S. President was then asked whether he was considering military action against Iran if necessary, to which he replied, "I won't talk about whether I would use military force or not... but I can assure you that they will not build nuclear weapons. You can count on this." The Trump administration has promised that if the nuclear agreement with Iran is not amended, the U.S. will no longer remain in the JCPOA. In this context, European powers have entered negotiations with the U.S., with reports indicating that one of the main topics of Merkel's meeting with Trump was the JCPOA. According to Politico, reporters at the press conference asked Merkel about the possibility of the U.S. exiting the agreement and Germany's position, to which she responded that German diplomats would continue their intensive negotiations with the United States. Merkel then added, "This is a piece of the mosaic, a piece on which we can build our desired structure if you like. We need to see what decisions our American partners have made." Merkel, who had a working lunch with Trump at the White House, is the second foreign leader in recent days to encourage Trump to keep the U.S. in the nuclear agreement. Before her, French President Emmanuel Macron, who visited Washington, consulted with his American counterpart but ultimately acknowledged to reporters before returning to his country that his efforts had been unsuccessful and that the U.S. would likely exit the agreement. Donald Trump has set four conditions for the U.S. to continue its participation in the JCPOA: "immediate access" for international inspectors to all Iranian sites and facilities, making restrictions on Iran's nuclear program permanent, receiving guarantees that Iran will not come close to nuclear weapons, and limiting Iran's ballistic missile program. In this context, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo emphasized on Friday after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers that if these reforms are not implemented, Donald Trump will not be inclined to continue in the JCPOA. According to reports from CBS News, Politico, and Radio Farda; the U.S. government has not yet made a decision to exit the JCPOA. Merkel's visit to Washington for a meeting with Trump; the JCPOA was a key topic of discussion. Pompeo: If the JCPOA is not changed, Donald Trump will not be inclined to continue it.