Trump tells Macron US will pull out of Iran nuclear deal — report

US President Donald Trump reportedly told French President Emmanuel Macron Tuesday that he is withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, The New York Times reported hours before his scheduled announcement regarding the 2015 accord.

The French presidency swiftly denied the report, telling Reuters Trump had not given Macron any indication of his intentions regarding the nuclear deal.

In a terse statement earlier, the Elysee Palace said only that the two men “discussed matters relating to peace and stability in the Middle East,” with no specific mention of Iran.

According to The New York Times, Trump told Macron the US would walk away from the deal and reimpose sanctions, citing a person familiar with the phone call.

There was no confirmation from the White House.

Trump said on Twitter Monday that he would announce his decision at 2 p.m. Washington time (9 p.m. Israel time) on Tuesday in what could be his most consequential foreign policy move yet.

The source told the New York Times the US would eventually reinstate all sanctions it had waived as part of the nuclear accord. New penalties were also being planned, the person said.

The Washington Post reported that Trump would cite an Iranian nuclear archive stolen by Israel and unveiled by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu late last month during his announcement, as proof that Iran lied about its nuclear program.

For months, Trump has unsuccessfully demanded changes to the Obama-era nuclear deal, which saw Iran commit to stop military-scale uranium enrichment and open up to inspections in return for massive sanctions relief.

Months of intensive talks between the US and its European allies ultimately stalled when the European signatories of the deal refused Trump’s demand to rewrite key provisions of the accord.

Macron had positioned himself as the emissary for European officials seeking a compromise that would keep the deal intact and hoped to successfully argue his case during a state visit to Washington last month, but later made no secret that he believed Trump had already made up his mind to scrap the 2015 agreementy.

Trump’s phone call Tuesday came as Britain, Germany, France, and a senior EU official met Iran’s deputy foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in Brussels and “used this opportunity to reiterate their support to the continued full and effective implementation of the [deal] by all sides,” the bloc said in a statement.

European Commission spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said Tuesday the Iran deal “was working” and said Europe’s “commitment to continue with implementation remains.”

Critics have warned that ending the sanction waivers would unravel the carefully constructed deal, plunge Iran’s already struggling economy into crisis, spur a Middle East arms race, and expose the biggest transatlantic rift since the Iraq War.