WASHINGTON, D.C.—House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) released the following statement regarding President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the failed Iran nuclear deal:
“I fully support President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Obama administration’s flawed Iran nuclear deal. I have long opposed that deal because it is bad for the United States, as well as our closest ally in the region, Israel. The Iran deal failed to end Iran’s nuclear program once and for all, and has only emboldened Iran to destabilize the Middle East. The bad deal also enabled Iran to increase their financial support for terrorist organizations worldwide, and furthered development of Iran’s ballistic missile program. Also, as Prime Minister Netanyahu presented last week, Iran has a clear track record of lying about the military dimension of its nuclear program and even under the deal, inspectors could not access all sites in Iran. In addition, the deal was naively premised on trusting Iran to verify their compliance, and allows key provisions to sunset in a matter of years.
“America and our strongest ally Israel are not safe with a nuclear Iran. After eight years of a weakened foreign policy under President Obama, I am glad that President Trump is restoring American leadership and making it clear there will be zero tolerance for rogue regimes who sponsor global terrorism. In Congress we will continue to support President Trump’s moves to impose tougher sanctions against Iran so we can hold them accountable and ensure an end to their nuclear program, and I encourage our allies around the world to do the same.”