Trump says nixing Iran nuclear deal would not hurt North Korea talks

[May 01, 2018]  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal would not have a negative impact on his upcoming nuclear talks with North Korea, and he said he would be open to negotiating a new nuclear accord with Tehran.

"I think it sends the right message," Trump told a news conference when asked if pulling out of the Iran deal would send the wrong message to Pyongyang. "You know in seven years, that deal will have expired and Iran is free to go ahead and create nuclear weapons."

Trump declined to say whether the United States would pull out of the nuclear deal before a May 12 deadline for a decision, saying: "We'll see what happens."

But he expressed his dissatisfaction with the pact.

"That is just not an acceptable situation. They're not sitting back idly. They're setting off missiles, which they say are for television purposes. I don't think so," Trump said, adding, "That doesn't mean we won't negotiate a real agreement."

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by David Alexander; Editing by Tim Ahmann)

[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.

President Donald Trump gestures while addressing a joint news conference with Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, U.S., April 30, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque