Former CIA Director and retired general David Petraeus said Sunday he supports President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran deal.
“Speaking at an event in Israel, the former top US spy said the move will lead to much greater pressure on Iran, not just in areas covered by the nuclear deal, but also the Islamic Republic’s missile program and Tehran’s malign activities across the Middle East,” the Jerusalem Post reports.
A global deal to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions contains elements “of great concern,” Petraeus warned in December 2016.
“There are some significant downsides that should cause us great concern,” Petraeus told the Manama Dialogue security forum in Bahrain of the accord.
He pointed to the 10-15 year validity of the pact, and the fact that it gives Iran access to tens of billions of dollars in previously frozen assets.
On May 8, President Trump signed a presidential memorandum withdrawing from the 2015 agreement and announced plans to reinstall sanctions on the Iranian regime.
President Trump declared America “will not be held hostage to nuclear blackmail” and will not allow “a regime that chants ‘Death to America’” to get access to nuclear weapons.
“This was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made,” he added. “It didn’t bring calm, it didn’t bring peace, and it never will.”
The Agence France-Presse and Associated Press contributed to this report.