--- title: Chris Christie Won't Pledge to Undo Iran Deal description: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said that he would not pledge to undo an Iran nuclear deal he doesn't like should he become president. canonical: https://time.com/3945854/chris-christie-iran-deal/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-07-04T20:39:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:41:44.612Z article:section: Politics og:title: Christie Won't Pledge to Undo Iran Deal og:description: Even though he doesn't approve of it. og:url: https://time.com/3945854/chris-christie-iran-deal/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a592b5a1c1f384e/69885967e53aba16604de724/chris-christie-new-hampshire.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 594 og:image:height: 334 og:image:alt: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) holds a town hall meeting at the American Legion Dupuis Cross Post 15 July 2, 2015 in Ashland, New Hampshire. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Christie Won't Pledge to Undo Iran Deal twitter:description: Even though he doesn't approve of it. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a592b5a1c1f384e/69885967e53aba16604de724/chris-christie-new-hampshire.jpg?branch=production&width=594&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Christie Won't Pledge to Undo Iran Deal > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Chris Christie 2016 Presidential Campaign Announcement [Watch (HLS stream): Chris Christie 2016 Presidential Campaign Announcement](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/MArXAsQg.m3u8) (1:11)  _Published 2015-06-30. Christie Announcement-v1_ by [Zeke J Miller / Wolfeboro, N.H.](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / Wolfeboro, N.H. Jul 4, 2015 8:39 PM UTC  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) holds a town hall meeting at the American Legion Dupuis Cross Post 15 July 2, 2015 in Ashland, New Hampshire. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) holds a town hall meeting at the American Legion Dupuis Cross Post 15 July 2, 2015 in Ashland, New Hampshire. Darren McCollester—2015 Getty Images by [Zeke J Miller / Wolfeboro, N.H.](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller / Wolfeboro, N.H. Jul 4, 2015 8:39 PM UTC New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Saturday that while he is deeply troubled by the emerging Iranian nuclear agreement, he would not pledge to undo it should he take office. Speaking to Republicans on July 4th in this lakeside vacation town, Christie sought to differentiate himself from the other 15 GOP candidates for president, casting himself as a leader who would carefully consider all options. “I’m not one of those guys who’s going to say to you, ‘on Day One I will abrogate the agreement,'” Christie said, noting that the American president could not just act alone when China, Russia, Germany, France and the United Kingdom are also parties to the deal, should one emerge. “On Day One, I will look into it and try to decide, depending upon where we are at that moment.” As Christie was speaking, American and international negotiators were continuing talks in Vienna to complete the deal before this week’s deadline. Christie said he would have long since walked away from the table, arguing that Iran cannot be trusted to implement the agreement. “If I was negotiating this deal right now, I would be gone,” he said. “I would be away from the table. I would be going back to our allies and saying these are not reliable negotiators on the other side—not the people we can count on to keep their word. They haven’t shown us that.” But Christie added he could not commit to revoke an agreement without prior investigation. “If I’m saddled with the deal as president, then on the first day I’ll be saying to my national security advisor, to my Secretary of State and to my head of national intelligence: give me all the information I need to let me know all the options I have to try to put this genie back in the bottle, and then we’ll make a decision,” he added. The comments follow a pattern for Christie, who has tried to draw subtle differences between himself and the rest of the GOP field on a range of policy proposals. Christie told a crowd of more than 100 at the breakfast event to “be careful” of candidates who make promises about what they’ll do on “Day One.” “I have grave, grave doubts that this is an agreement I will be willing to stand behind, but I also don’t want to be the kind of president who tells all of you something in a campaign and that either doesn’t do it, hoping you forget that I told you I would actually do it on the first day,” he said. “Or, who does it only because I promised it, even if at that moment it’s not what’s in the best interests of America.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3945854/chris-christie-iran-deal/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3945854/chris-christie-iran-deal/"},"headline":"Christie Won't Pledge to Undo Iran Deal","datePublished":"2015-07-04T20:39:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-19T07:41:44.612Z","description":"Even though he doesn't like it.","url":"https://time.com/3945854/chris-christie-iran-deal/","keywords":["Chris Christie","2016 Election","Iran","Foreign Policy","iran nuclear deal"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a592b5a1c1f384e/69885967e53aba16604de724/chris-christie-new-hampshire.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke J Miller / Wolfeboro, N.H."}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a592b5a1c1f384e/69885967e53aba16604de724/chris-christie-new-hampshire.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"New Jersey Gov. 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