This is good to see, especially in light of earlier reports that McMaster was in favor of the Iran deal. Could he be coming around to his boss’ point of view, rather than molding Trump’s views to match his own? Free people can only hope.
“McMaster on ‘Fundamentally Flawed’ Iran Nuclear Deal: ‘How Do You Trust This Regime?,’” by Paul Crookston, Daily Caller, September 21, 2017:
…McMaster spoke to CNN’s Chris Cuomo, castigating the deal’s sunset clause, which lifts restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program after 2025, as well as the trustworthiness of the Iranian regime. He said the deal is “fundamentally flawed,” and quoted President Donald Trump’s declaration that the deal, agreed upon by his predecessor Barack Obama, was the worst of “all-time.”
“The deal is fundamentally flawed,” McMaster said. “As the president said, he called it the worst deal of all-time. It gave the Iranian regime all the benefits up front.”
“The flaws of the deal, the sunset clause that could really give this regime, who is not trustworthy, obviously, cover to advance a nuclear program and then have this threshold capability,” he added….
“Iran is continuing missile development, missile development that could be paired with a nuclear program later,” McMaster said. “The regime has not just walked up to the line but crossed the line, spinning too many centrifuges, too much heavy water.”
“So while the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency], the monitoring body, called them out on it and they’ve corrected some of this: How do you trust this regime to do it?” he asked….
“Much more rigorous enforcement is needed – the need to address the fundamental flaw, the sunset clause, the need to address other capabilities that could then threaten the world, from this autocratic, theocratic regime in Iran,” McMaster said….
“So, these are the things we have to work on together, but in the context of an overall Iran strategy, because Iran is destabilizing not just the Middle East, but poses a broader threat,” McMaster said. “Iran is perpetuating this humanitarian and political crisis in the Middle East.”