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Following President Trumps inauguration, there was uncertainty regarding the administrations position on Iran, especially as far as the P5+1 Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) was concerned. But Trumps strong campaign-trail statements about ripping up the worst deal ever negotiated have receded to the background. What currently remains at the forefront is no doubt acute dissatisfaction with the nuclear deal, but rather than ripping it up, the administration has stated that it wants to review the deal in the context of overall U.S. policy toward Iran. What has also moved to the forefront over the past three months is greater attention to Irans provocative regional behavior. In late January, the administration stated clearlyfollowing an Iranian ballistic missile test that can reach Western Europe with a nuclear warheadthat it was putting Iran on notice and would no longer be willing to turn a blind eye to Irans provocations, behavior that the Obama administration had often been willing to gloss over in the post-deal period (mid-2015 to late 2016) in order not to upset Iran, which would risk upsetting the deal. But how are the nuclear and other aspects of Irans behavior woven together in the new approach?

Secretary of State Rex Tillersons April 19 statement on Iran has provided important insight into this question. The day before Tillerson released his statement, and in accordance with the administrations obligation to submit every three months a letter to Congress tracking Irans compliance with the JCPOA, the administration stated that Iran was complying with the deal. But Trump insisted that the letter to Congress also note the administrations grave concern with Irans continued support for terrorism. Also, the president then instructed Tillerson to release a statement the next day clarifying the administrations overall position on Iran.

Tillerson began his statement by noting that the Trump administration is conducting across the entire government a review of its Iran policy. He went on to stress that what he would like to address today is Irans alarming and ongoing provocations that export terror and violence, destabilizing more than one country at a time. As a leading state sponsor of terrorism, Tillerson noted that Iran is intensifying regional conflicts and undermining U.S. interests in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon. Additionally, the country continues to support attacks against Israel. He then immediately made the connection to North Korea, saying that if it continued unchecked, Iran had the potential to travel the same path as North Korea, and take the world with it. Therefore there was a need to address all aspects of Irans behavior.

On the JCPOA specifically, Tillerson highlighted the major problems: first, the deal fails to achieve its objective of a nonnuclear Iran; second, it only delays the problem, which will have to be picked up by a future administration, and the Trump administration does not intend to pass the buck; and third, Iran remains aggressive all across the Middle East, posing threats that are ignored by the JCPOA. For all of these reasons, the administration intends to conduct a ninety-day comprehensive review of its Iran policy, and the JCPOA is only one component in the overall picture. It will, on this basis, meet the challenges that Iran poses with clarity and conviction.

What emerges from this statement is that not only has the JCPOA not solved the nuclear dimension of Irans behavior (by not achieving the objective of a nonnuclear Iran), but that Iran is posing an increasingly stepped-up threat in the region. By stressing the need for a comprehensive approach to policy on Iran, that looks at all components, Tillerson is saying that the different threats that Iran posesin the nuclear and regional arenascannot be separated. Another notable feature of Tillersons statement is the impact that developments in the North Korean arena have clearly had on the administration's thinking on Iranspecifically, regarding the dangerous implications of merely delaying a states nuclear capability. Several times Tillerson noted that the administration did not want its policy on Iran to follow the same failed approach that resulted in the current situation in North Koreawhich is viewed to be the result of buying off North Koreas nuclear advances for a short amount of time, only for the problem to reemerge and become a problem for a later administration.

Opponents of the Trump administrations approach have depicted these statements as conflicting, jumbled and confused. In particular, they point to the fact that the administration admitted that Iran was complying with the nuclear deal, and the next day released a statement highly critical of its behavior. However, while there have no doubt been many twists and turns in the administrations approach to other aspects of foreign policy, the emerging approach to the Iran nuclear challenge so far is not confused, although it is very different from the previous administration.

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Is Tillerson Signaling a Change in US Iran Policy? - The National Interest Online