Sen. Cruz Applauds President Trump’s Move to Invoke Snapback Sanctions and Maintain Arms Embargo on Iran

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement after President Trump announced the U.S. will invoke the snapback mechanism in UN Security Council Resolution 2231, restoring international sanctions and preventing the upcoming expiration of the United Nations arms embargo on Iran: 

"I applaud the Trump administration for taking this final step to terminate the catastrophic Obama-Biden Iran nuclear deal. Iran’s tyrannical and evil regime continues to finance and export terror, endangering the lives of Americans and the national security of us and our allies. Had President Trump not ordered this step, in just a few short weeks the arms embargo on Iran would have been lifted, and then after that the ballistic missile ban, and ultimately Iran would be left with an unlimited civilian nuclear program endorsed by the U.N. Last week our European partners senselessly and fecklessly refused to take sides as we sought to extend just the arms embargo, and China and Russia, who intend to send billions of dollars of weapons to Iran, opposed our resolution. The U.S. was left with only one option. By using our existing authority to invoke the snapback sanctions mechanism, we have taken a necessary step to counter Iran’s aggression, deny the regime resources, and slow significantly the development and deployment of Iran’s nuclear program. The United States will be carefully watching, and remembering, which of our partners and allies stand with us."

Sen. Cruz earlier this week condemned the fecklessness of our European allies and called on the U.S. to invoke the snapback mechanism to prevent China and Russia from arming Iran. Sen. Cruz also made his case for this move in a recent op-ed he penned for Newsweek.

READ: We Can, Should, and Will Invoke UN Snapback on Iran to End Iran Deal

Sen. Cruz has led the fight against the Iran Nuclear Deal since it was first negotiated. Recently, Sen. Cruz applauded the Trump administration’s decision to end the civil nuclear waivers for international nuclear cooperation with Iran. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Cruz has taken a number of actions to finally shred the catastrophic Obama-Iran nuclear deal, including:

• Introducing bipartisan legislation to impose sanctions on those who use civilians as human shields, including terror groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as their enablers.
• Introducing legislation with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) dismantle a key remaining part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in response to the Trump administration’s repeated issuance of waivers for civil nuclear projects contemplated by the deal.
• Urging President Trump to end remaining civil waivers stemming from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) following Iran’s announcement that it will no longer be bound by the terms of the Obama-Iran deal.

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