During the 2016 presidential campaign trail, Donald Trump separated himself from the pack on the issue of the Iran nuclear deal.
While then-candidate Trump was immensely critical of the deal, he never said he would rip it up as soon as he got into office. Instead, he pledged to enforce the terms of the deal and even give Congress time to re-visit the negotiating table and set a new standard. His chief rival during the Republican primary, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, would’ve handled it differently.
“This was an area of significant policy disagreement on the presidential campaign trail,” Cruz said in an interview today with the Washington Examiner‘s editorial board. “When I was campaigning for president, I promised on January 20th [2017], I would rip to shreds this Iran deal. I still think that’s the right thing to do.”
In mid-January, President Trump moved to extend the joint agreement with the P5+1 nations that would lift economic sanctions in exchange for a significant reduction in activity of Iran’s nuclear development program. While some might view this as the president caving on a campaign promise, he offered some tough words about this last extended olive branch.
“This is a last chance,” Trump said. “Either fix the deal’s disastrous flaws, or the United States will withdraw.”
For conservatives in Congress, like Cruz, who have to decide what to do about the deal, this is welcome news.
“I think we are moving in a very positive direction already,” Cruz said. “I think the president did the right thing when he decertified the agreement. When he declined to sign the certification and told Congress he could not certify that Iran was in compliance with the deal or that it was in the national security interest of the United States, I vigorously encouraged the president to do that.”
However, he’s afraid that Congress won’t get anything done with respect to its “weak and laughable” inspection and verification process, particularly in the Senate. President Trump has his work cut out for him at the negotiating table. After a partial 69-hour government shutdown this past week, Trump is still struggling with getting lawmakers to agree on key elements of an immigration deal. Congress has a better chance of kneeling during the national anthem than of reworking the terms and conditions of the Iranian nuclear deal.
“I am quite skeptical that this deeply divided Senate will be able to pass anything significant that puts real teeth in the deal,” Cruz continued. “And so I think we are inexorably on the road to terminating the agreement, which I believe would be in the national security interest of the country.”
When it comes to the recent protests against the Iranian government, President Trump and members of his administration tweeted and spoke out in support of the protesters to bring about real change in a country that’s run by an oppressive government. Cruz said the Trump administration’s next steps are to find ways to amplify Iranian voices within the country by circumventing the regime’s efforts of blocking communication through the internet and social media. The ultimate goal, in Cruz’s mind, would be to see an end to the system of government that physically harms and kills peaceful protesters.
“It is hard to think of anything that would have a greater positive impact on U.S. national security, and indeed on safety and security across the globe, than seeing the Iranian regime be toppled.”
If things continue down this path to where the nuclear deal is dismantled, President Trump might feel more enabled to support the Iranian people in more active and aggressive ways that could lead to a freer Iran. And that could come sooner, rather than later.
Siraj Hashmi is a commentary video editor and writer for the Washington Examiner.
