Sen. Bob Corker said Wednesday that he did not believe that President-elect Donald Trump would "tear up" the Iran nuclear deal on his first day in office because "I don't think that's the way to start."
"I don't think he's going to come in on January 20th and rip the agreement up," the Tennessee Republican, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Jake Tapper on CNN. "Which, by the way, because of the way it was done, he can easily do.
"It's a non-binding political commitment," he added. "If President Trump wants to step away from it the day he gets in office, he can — which is why it shouldn't have been done in the manner that it was done."
Corker said he believed that Trump should pressure Iran on various aspects of the agreement that have already been violated — and build consensus with Congress and other nations before outright ending the accord.
"There will be strong bipartisan support for really pushing back against the violations that Iran is committing right now, both on the ballistic-missile testing and on the purchase of conventional arms," he told Tapper. "You're going to see Congress really joining in with him to push back and to hold their feet to the fire.
"The way to really make this happen, in an appropriate way, is we've got to bring Germany, France and the UK and other countries along with us," Corker added. "I know President-elect Trump understands that.
"Iran, over time, likely will hang themselves, because they've already shown they're pushing the envelope, going outside the agreement.
"My guess is he'll be looking at the best path forward to ensure that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon," he said of Trump.
Corker also declined to comment on whether he was being considered for any positions in a Trump administration and beat back news reports of turmoil within the transition team.
"I was talking with someone there," he began. "I do get the sense that the turmoil is being blown out of proportion. It's just been seven days."
The senator noted that in 2008, President-elect Barack Obama did not announce his national security team — including Hillary Clinton as secretary of state — until Dec. 1, more than two weeks after the election.
Trump has 4,000 positions to fill in his administration, Corker said.
"My sense is all of us probably ought to just understand that this is how massive it is and should chill a little bit," he told Tapper, "and give them a little time to get their bearings."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.