US hopes to stay in Iran nuclear deal, Haley says

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US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Sunday said the Trump administration hopes to remain in the nuclear deal with Iran, but strengthen it so the “American people feel safer.”

“I think right now you are going to see us stay in the deal,” ​Haley said on NBC’s “Meet The Press.”​

“What we hope is that we can improve the situation,” she ​continued​. “And that’s the goal. ​… It’s not that we’re getting out of the deal. We’re just trying to make the situation better so that the American people feel safer.”

​Haley was one of the voices inside the administration pushing Trump not to certify the 2015 deal brokered by former President Barack Obama and other nations – including Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia – so that it could weigh a “proportionate” response to Tehran and to send a clear message to North Korea over its nuclear ambitions.​

“What we’re trying to say is, ‘Look, the agreement was an incentive. The agreement was for you to stop doing certain things,'” Haley said. “You haven’t stopped doing certain things. So what do we do to make Iran more accountable so that they do?”

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also said the administration will stay put but wants the pact to reflect U.S. goals in the region.

He said Trump wants a “more comprehensive strategy” on Iran that addresses matters beyond Tehran’s nuclear-weapon capability, including the regime’s support for terror groups and sowing instability in Syria and Yemen.

“Let’s see if we cannot address the flaws in the agreement by staying within the agreement, working with the other signatories, working with our European friends and allies,” he said.

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