Tillerson Slams Nuclear Deal after State Department Certifies Iranian Compliance

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson slammed the Iran nuclear deal for its limited scope and eventual sunset date Wednesday, and said the Trump administration is conducting an exhaustive review of its Iran policy.

The secretary’s rebuke came one day after his State Department certified that Iran is complying with the deal. The decision to certify likely follows from the administration being knee-deep in an intensive review of the agreement and uncertain about next steps, top proliferation experts told THE WEEKLY STANDARD.

"The [nuclear deal] fails to achieve the objective of a non-nuclear Iran; it only delays their goal of becoming a nuclear state," Tillerson said Wednesday. "The Trump administration has no intention of passing the buck to a future administration on Iran."

The secretary denounced the nuclear deal for not addressing a range of Iranian non-nuclear activities, including support for the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria and funding for Palestinian terrorist organizations.

"This was one of the mistakes in how that agreement was put together," he told reporters. "It completely ignored all of the other serious threats that Iran poses."