Sen. Cruz Marks One Year Since Iran Deal Withdrawal, Condemns Iran Nuclear Blackmail

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the following statement marking the one year anniversary of the United States withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as well as in response to Iran's threat to exceed limits set by the deal and the Trump administration's announcement of new sanctions targeting Iran's industrial metals sector:

"A year ago President Trump made the crucial decision to withdraw the United States from the catastrophic Obama Iran nuclear deal, and since then the administration has put unprecedented pressure on the Iranian regime. Iran has largely been expelled from the global financial system, is now unable to sell oil legally, and has lost the ‘Right to Enrich' waiver granted by the Obama administration that legitimized Iran's nuclear program despite Iran's covert nuclear weapons work. I applaud the Trump administration's decision today to increase pressure further by targeting Iran's industrial metals sector. Meanwhile the Ayatollahs have returned to open nuclear blackmail, and threatened today to accelerate their nuclear work if they do not get more concessions from the international community even as they continue exporting terrorism, bolstering the Assad regime, pursuing the eradication of Israel, threatening international waterways, launching cyberattacks, destabilizing our allies, and engaging in a range of other activities that threaten American national security. I urge the Trump administration to fully cease implementing the deal by not renewing the remaining civil-nuclear waivers when they expire in 90 days, or terminating them sooner if Iran accelerates its nuclear program."

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