Texas senator Ted Cruz dubbed the Trump administration’s certification that Iran is fully implementing the 2015 nuclear deal a “serious mistake” Wednesday.
President Donald Trump reluctantly approved certification earlier in the week—the announcement was sandwiched between news of additional non-nuclear sanctions on Tehran and criticism that the country is “in violation of the spirit of the agreement” with its destabilizing activities across the Middle East.
“It was a serious mistake,” Cruz told THE WEEKLY STANDARD. “They should not have certified compliance.”
He said that the deal should be ripped up wholesale, as Trump once pledged on the campaign trail.
“My preference would be to scrap the deal entirely, but at a minimum the administration has committed to vigorously enforcing the deal, and they need to do that,” he said. “There is no greater threat to national security on the face of the planet than the threat of a nuclear Iran.”
Cruz urged Trump to withhold certification in a letter last week, along with Ses. Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio, and David Perdue. The senators warned that Iran has “consistently violated” the nuclear deal and that continued sanctions relief is not in the United States’ national security interests.
But the other members who signed the letter were more hesitant to criticize certification.
“This is one of the worst deals I’ve ever seen. I wish it could be repealed and done away with,” said Perdue. “In the meantime, I really like what the president is talking about, and that is holding Iran accountable for all the violations on non-nuclear activity.”
Rubio also urged the administration to crack down on Iran for non-nuclear violations.
“It’s important that they issue additional sanctions on missile violations and the other matters that Iran continues to violate,” he told TWS.
Trump is required to report to Congress every 90 days on whether Iran is: implementing the nuclear deal, whether it has committed a material breach of the agreement, whether it is making moves to significantly advance its nuclear program, and whether sanctions relief is in U.S. national security interests. This time around, the administration worded its announcement of the certification to say not that Iran is complying with the deal, but that “the conditions” of a law related to the deal “are met,” signaling the president’s reluctance.
When the administration issued its certification in April, experts described the move as a “punt” that gave officials more time to conduct an Iran policy review.
Chairman of the Foreign Relations committee Bob Corker gave a similar explanation for this certification.
“They want some time to bring people together to think about how they move to a place where Iran never has the ability to enrich,” he said. “I think that drove a lot of what happened relative to certifying Iran’s compliance.”
Trump administration officials have criticized a number of provisions in the nuclear deal, most notably that its restrictions expire. They have also emphasized that Iran’s support for terrorism and other non-nuclear activities cannot be ignored for the sake of a nuclear solution.
Corker told reporters last week that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson wanted a “different agreement” with Iran. Asked Tuesday whether the administration wanted a different deal or vigorous enforcement of the current one, he appeared to hedge.
“Definitely going to be vigorous enforcement. What happens down the road, they’re still thinking that through,” he said.
