Iran nuclear deal tops agenda for Macron's U.S. visit

WASHINGTON -- President Trump is hosting French President at the White House and at the top of their agenda is the future of the , which Mr. Trump has threatened to scrap. As the two presidents met Tuesday, Mr. Trump had a warning for Iran.

"They're not gonna be restarting anything," Mr. Trump said.

He was referring to a threat by Iran's foreign minister Sunday on "Face the Nation" with moderator Margaret Brennan.

Brennan asked if he was ready to restart the if Mr. Trump puts sanctions back on Iran even if the rest of the world says not to do it.

"Obviously the rest of the world cannot ask us to unilaterally and one sidedly implement a deal that has already been broken," Zarif said.

"They restart their nuclear problem, they will have bigger problems than they have ever had before," Mr. Trump reiterated.

It's a tough issue for Mr. Macron who's trying to persuade Mr. Trump to stay in the deal, arguing there is no "plan b" for stopping Iran from getting nuclear weapons.

After meeting with Mr. Macron, Mr. Trump seemed open to a possible compromise being worked out by European allies.

"There is a chance, and nobody knows what I'm going to do," he said.

Mr. Trump had kind words for , who already has .

"He really has been very open and I think very honorable from everything we're seeing," Mr. Trump said.

That's a stark contrast from his previous comments last fall.

" ... a madman who doesn't mind starving or killing his people," Mr. Trump said at the time. "A sick puppy."

The change is a reflection of how badly , although he also tried to for the meeting

"Maybe it will be wonderful, and maybe it won't," he said.

The news on Iran and North Korea came on a day otherwise filled with pomp for the official arrival of Mr. Macron who Mr. Trump .

Mr. Macron will speak Wednesday before a joint meeting of Congress where he is expected once again to argue that the United States should stay in the Iran nuclear deal. But in the end it's not up to Congress -- it will be up to his good friend, Mr. Trump.