Defense secretary pick Mattis calls Russia top threat, says Iran deal will be enforced

Defense secretary nominee James Mattis on Thursday ranked Russia and the national debt as top threats to U.S. national security and said that President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran was “imperfect” but must be enforced. “It’s not a deal I would have signed,” the retired Marine general said in a wide-ranging Senate Armed Services Committee hearing focused on his virtually certain confirmation. During a three-hour appearance before lawmakers who rarely challenged him, Mattis repeatedly criticized Russia, promised that President-elect Donald Trump would enforce NATO’s automatic mutual-defense agreement, and said he had no plans to roll back the role of women or LGBTQ Americans in the military.