President Trump on Friday is expected to announce a tough new approach to Iran that could result in eventually unraveling the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.However, he is unlikely for now to remove the U.S. from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which he has called "the worst deal ever." Instead, he will turn to Congress to decide whether to reimpose sanctions on Iran by not recertifying Tehran's compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.In a fact sheet issued late Thursday, the White House said the objective was to: "Address the major flaws of the [deal] by requiring the automatic 'snapback' of U.S. sanctions should Iran violate enhanced and existing restrictions on its nuclear program."The deal gave Iran relief from some international economic sanctions in return for Iran allowing inspections and limits on its nuclear program.The deal, forged by Iran and the U.S., China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the European Union, requires Tehran to reduce its stockpile of enriched "weapons grade" uranium by 98 percent, remove two-thirds of its centrifuges and remove the core of its heavy water reactor. It also allows for inspections of Iran's facilities.In a Senate hearing this month, Secretary of Defense James Mattis said it was in the national interest to stay in the agreement.Although Trump has been a vocal critic of the accord, his administration has until now continued to certify. The next 90-day recertification deadline was to have been on Sunday.Specifically, the White House wants to eliminate so-called sunset provisions in the agreement that would expire after 15 years and, the administration says, allow Iran to resume a weapons program. It also wants to tighten verification and inspections and eliminate a provision in the agreement that allows Iran to continue nuclear research and development.Trump will also ask Congress "to amend or replace outright the legislation that currently requires him to certify Iranian compliance every 90 days," The Associated Press reports. According to the news service:
Trump To Detail Tougher Line On Iran's Nuclear Program
![President Trump speaks during a nomination announcement at the East Room of the White House on Thursday.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/4e3f5e5/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2664x1998+0+0/resize/880x660!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fimages%2Fnews%2Fnpr%2F2017%2F10%2F557526250_39381780.jpg)