Sen. Cruz Issues Statement on Iran’s JCPOA Violation

HOUSTON, Texas – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement in response to reports that Iran has violated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA): 

“The catastrophic Obama Iran nuclear deal was built to allow Iran to cheat, both by making it difficult to detect violations and by giving other countries an incentive to dismiss those violations when they became undeniable. Iran began exploiting the deal before it was even implemented, secretly preserving nuclear weapons infrastructure and openly violating limits on nuclear-related materials – only to have the parties reflexively ignore the violations, downplay them as minor, or provide still-confidential side deals and loopholes. 

“Unfortunately, but predictably, today we are already seeing many in Washington D.C. and abroad downplay Iran’s latest violation.

“It’s time to put an end to this charade. The Trump administration should increase sanctions on Iran's nuclear program, first by ending the civil-nuclear waivers the State Department has been providing, which allow Iran to continue building up its nuclear program, and second by invoking the United Nations snapback, to restore international sanctions and restrictions on Iran. In the meantime, Congress should pass the legislation I’ve introduced to increase economic pressure on Iran by sanctioning the Special Purpose Vehicle built by Britain, France, Germany, and Iran to preserve the Ayatollah's economic lifeline, and I will continue to work with my Congressional colleagues to ensure that maximum pressure means maximum pressure.”

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