From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
After deal pullout, Mattis says US will help counter Iran’s ‘malign’ influence
US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis tells a Senate panel the Trump administration will work with allies and partners to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
In an opening statement to the defense subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee, focused mainly on the administration’s proposed 2018 defense budget, Mattis notes that US President Donald Trump had announced his decision Tuesday to withdraw American participation in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Without commenting directly on the implications of leaving the nuclear deal, Mattis said the US will work with “others” to address what he called “the range of Iran’s malign influence.”
“This administration remains committed to putting the safety, interests and well-being of our citizens first.”
— Agencies
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