It was as much what Donald Trump didn’t say as what he did say that interested those pushing to preserve the Iran nuclear deal when the US president on April 24 appeared at a joint White House press conference with French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.

The multilateral deal was “insane”, “terrible” and “ridiculous”, Trump said in his trademark fashion of never understating what can be overstated. But—and here’s where optimism sprang anew—he refrained from repeating a favourite shtick, namely that he would pull the US out of the deal.

Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel—due to visit Trump later this week—and UK Prime Minister Theresa May have been putting in some overtime lately working out how to persuade Trump not to withdraw Washington from the deal when his declared “last chance” deadline for a renegotiation of the accord arrives on May 12.

Trump is unhappy that the nuclear agreement—formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and signed by Iran, the US, UK, France, Germany, Russia and China in late 2015 after painstaking negotiations—does not tackle Iran's ballistic missile programme and the Islamic Republic’s influence in conflicts across the Middle East, as well as its support of Israel’s enemy, militant group Hezbollah. He is also disgruntled that “sunset” clauses that kick in in 2025 will leave Tehran free to progressively restart part of its nuclear programme.

Under the accord, Tehran is shielded from heavy sanctions aimed at crucial parts of its economy such as its oil export industry and central banking in return for agreeing to measures that bar any path it might take to developing a nuclear weapon—which, to the scorn of the Israelis, it claims it never had any intention of developing in the first place.

More time?
In an apparent reference to Iran’s threat to itself pull out of the JCPOA and then restart uranium enrichment under its nuclear programme should Trump end US participation in the deal, the American president threw more angry rhetoric Tehran’s way, saying while sat next to Macron: “If Iran threatens us in any way, they will pay a price like few countries have ever paid.” However, several journalists among the White House press corps later reported sources familiar with the internal debate at the White House as saying that a viable option might be Trump giving Europe more time beyond his declared deadline to toughen the JCPOA’s terms.

The current JCPOA can be seen as one "pillar" to which the other elements should be added, Macron said.

Trump added that he and Macron could soon have an agreement on the accord. “We could have at least an agreement among ourselves very quickly. I think we’re fairly close to understanding each other.” He also teased the assembled press, saying he had confided his intentions to his French counterpart, adding. “Nobody knows what I’m going to do on the 12th. Though Mr President [Macron], you have a pretty good idea.”

“It’s not a mystery, we did not have the same starting positions, stances, and neither you nor I have a habit of changing our stances or going with the wind. That being said, I can say that we’ve had a very frank discussion,” Macron also commented.

Another development that may have angered Trump was Iran’s threat on April 24 to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) if the US leaves the nuclear deal. Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council, said Tehran could leave the NPT nearly half a century after it signed if it decided the treaty no longer served its interests.

Trump sees Iran everywhere
At the White House, Trump also made comments that plenty of Middle East analysts would take issue with, for instance saying that "it just seems that no matter where you go, especially in the Middle East, Iran is behind it; wherever there is trouble—Yemen, Syria; no matter where you have it Iran is behind it," Trump said. "And now, unfortunately, Russia is getting more and more involved, but Iran seems to be behind everything where there is a problem."

Such a simplistic take on the Middle East’s troubles neglect the fact, for instance, that Iran has played a crucial, and possibly decisive, role in defeating the Islamic State terrorist militia across Iraq and Syria. Furthermore, Shi’ite Muslim Iran is a declared enemy of Al-Qaeda, while Saudi Arabia, a country Trump pals up with at every opportunity while driving up arms sales to Riyadh, has plenty of questions to answer when it comes to financial and other support that has flowed the way of such Sunni Muslim terrorist organisations from Saudi sources.

The collapse of the JCPOA would raise tensions in the volatile Middle East and might even result in a nuclear arms race between the Saudis and Iranians.

Iran may reject any proposed renegotiation
But a more immediate concern is that Tehran will reject any attempt at renegotiating the nuclear deal, arguing—as 500 French, German and UK lawmakers did in an April 19 letter to their US counterparts—that a unilateral withdrawal from a multilateral agreement by the US would damage the credibility of the JCPOA signatories as partners in international negotiations and more generally hurt the use of diplomacy as a tool to secure lasting peace and security.

In a speech broadcast live on state television on April 24, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reiterated that the US would face "severe consequences" if it violated the pact.

"I am telling those in the White House that if they do not live up to their commitments, the Iranian government will firmly react," Rouhani told a crowd of thousands in the northeastern city of Tabriz, according to RFE/RL.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on April 24 that “if the United States were to withdraw from the nuclear deal, the immediate consequence in all likelihood would be that Iran would reciprocate and withdraw". "There won't be any deal for Iran to stay in," he added.

Russia and China, meanwhile, have pledged once more that they are offering "unwavering support" for the deal.