U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley defended President Donald Trump’s stance on the Iran nuclear deal by saying he is trying to keep Iran from becoming "the next North Korea."
Trump announced Friday he would decertify Iran’s compliance with the nuclear agreement, but he is not fully withdrawing from it. Haley argued that his toughness on Iran is a result of seeing how negotiations with North Korea failed to stop the Kim Jong Un regime from developing a nuclear program.
"Had this been done with North Korea over the past 25 years, we wouldn't be in this situation," Haley said on Sunday, referring to Kim's recent missile tests. "What you see is the president is trying to make sure that Iran doesn't become the next North Korea."
ABC host George Stephanopoulos asked Haley if Trump’s decision sent the wrong message to North Korea because it might prevent them from negotiating with the U.S. in the future. Haley, however, said it sends the message that the U.S. will remain vigilant.
"It sends the perfect message to North Korea, which is we're not going to engage in a bad deal," she said. "And should we ever get into a deal, we're going to hold you accountable."
Haley said Iran’s technical compliance with the International Atomic Energy Agency does not mean it meets the expectations the U.S. has for national security. She cited Iran’s other violations and support for terrorism and advised against complacency in service of keeping the deal.
"What you're seeing is, everybody is turning a blind eye to Iran and all of those violations out of trying to protect this agreement," Haley said. "What we need to say is, we have to hold them accountable."
In another interview Sunday on NBC’s "Meet the Press," Haley reiterated her point that the joint partners in the Iran deal should not treat it as "too big to fail."
"When the international community gives Iran a pass for all these things—the ballistic missile testing, the arms sales, their support of terrorism—and they look the other way all in the name of keeping the deal, then you are looking at something that's too big to fail," Haley said. "That's the problem."