The socialist government of France is tougher on Iran and its nuclear program than the United States, Sen. Tom Cotton said Tuesday night.
“I, like most other Americans, would be happy to see a negotiated deal that blocks Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon — not just today and tomorrow, but 10 and 15 years from now,” the Arkansas Republican said on Fox News Channel, saying President Obama is negotiating from a position of weakness.
According to Cotton, “we are on the verge of making a very bad deal.”
“Three-hundred and seventy members of the House of Representatives said they wanted to see a deal that blocked any path,” Cotton said. “The socialist government of France is drawing a harder line than the president is right now.”
Cotton also argued that the best U.S. foreign policy toward Iran was when Congress had imposed sanctions on the country. However, Obama lifted the sanctions to begin negotiations with the country, a move which Cotton said gave “away the best cards we hold.”
“[W]alk away now, reinstitute those suspended sanctions and impose new sanctions to get back to a position of strength so we can negotiate a better deal,” Cotton said.
Cotton was part of a group of nearly 50 Republican senators who sent an open letter Iranian leaders earlier this month, warning them that any nuclear deal reached with the U.S. could be modified or abandoned by a future president should Congress not approve of it.
