French President Emmanuel Macron has warned that war could erupt if U.S. President Donald Trump withdraws from the 2015 deal in which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
"We would open Pandora's box. There could be war," Macron told German weekly magazine Der Spiegel. However, he added, "I don't think Donald Trump wants war."
White House officials have said the nuclear accord fails to address Iran's ballistic missile program and will allow it to rebuild its nuclear program after some of its provisions expire.
Trump is set to decide by May 12 whether to pull out of the Iran deal and re-impose sanctions on Iran. Trump has all but decided to withdraw but exactly how he plans to go about it remains unclear, two White House officials and a source familiar with the administration's internal debate said last week.
Trump may still figure out a way to stay in the deal, which was signed by Iran and six world powers: Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.
Macron urged Trump not to withdraw when he met the president in Washington late last month.
Britain, France and Germany remain committed to the accord but, in an effort to keep Washington in it, want to open talks on Iran's ballistic missile program, its nuclear activities beyond 2025 – when key provisions of the deal expire – and its role in Middle East crises such as Syria and Yemen.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Republican leader of the U.S. House Armed Services Committee urged Trump not to walk away from the Iran nuclear deal.
Texas congressman Mac Thornberry told Fox News it would be a mistake for Trump to scuttle the deal.
"I would counsel against it," he said.
As committee chairman, Thornberry is considered a key Republican voice on national security issues. Thornberry said that while he was opposed to the deal when it was signed by the Obama administration in 2015, exiting it now would erode Washington's leverage against Iran.
"I thought it was a bad deal," he said. "But the key question is, OK, what happens next if the U.S. pulls out? Does Iran kick out those inspectors so we lose the visibility we have?"
Thornberry said that Trump should work with European allies to address the shortcomings in the accord. But scuttling the deal would take pressure off Iran by dividing the U.S. and its allies, he said.
"The Europeans are not going to reimpose sanctions, so where does that leave us and Iran?" he said.
