Iran violating 'spirit' of nuclear deal, Trump alleges

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Iran is not "living up to the spirit" of an agreement it brokered with the international community on its nuclear program, President Donald Trump said on Thursday.

Trump did not specify what he meant, but was adamant that "Iran has not lived up to the spirit of the agreement," referring to the nuclear pact signed by Tehran and international powers in 2015 that put far-reaching curbs on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

"They have to do that," he said in reference to living up to the spirit of the agreement, later saying, "we will see what happens."

The comments come one day after Trump's top diplomat, Rex Tillerson, slammed Iran's "alarming and ongoing provocations", announcing a "comprehensive review" of U.S. policy toward the Middle East country.

The statement came hours after the State Department confirmed Iran continued to comply with the terms of the deal.

Tillerson said the agreement "fails to achieve the objective of a non-nuclear Iran", but stopped short of threatening to terminate the deal or punish Tehran with more sanctions.

He nevertheless added that the Trump administration had "no intention of passing the buck to a future administration on Iran".

Trump has long been a critic of the agreement, repeatedly taking aim at its terms and the negotiation process as one of the worst he's ever seen -- a claim he repeated on Thursday. He threatened on the campaign trail to do away with the accord, but has been short on specifics after assuming office three months ago.

"They are not living up to the spirit of the agreement. I can tell you that," Trump said. "It shouldn’t have been signed."