Sen. Cruz, Who Led Fight to Shred Catastrophic Obama-Biden Iran Nuclear Deal, Praises Administration’s Move to Invoke Snapback Mechanism
HOUSTON, Texas - Last week, the Trump administration took historic action to terminate international sanctions relief that Iran received under the Iran deal and to prevent the expiration of the United Nations arms embargo on Iran by invoking the snapback mechanism. The embargo, if lifted, would have allowed China and Russia to sell billions of dollars in weapons to the Iranian regime, weapons likely to be used against American interests throughout the Middle East and beyond.
In addition to preventing the expiration of the arms embargo, the administration's move to invoke the snapback mechanism allows the U.S. to finally and irreversibly shred the catastrophic Obama-Biden Iran Nuclear Deal that has threatened the security of the United States and our allies since the beginning of negotiations in 2013, which included allowing billions of dollars to flow into Iran.
Since President Trump's decision to exit the disastrous deal in 2018, Sen. Cruz has repeatedly led calls to invoke the snapback mechanism, including most recently after our European allies fecklessly refused to stand with the U.S. at the U.N. Security Council.
As Sen. Cruz wrote in Newsweek in response to those critical of the administration decision to invoke the snapback mechanism:
"Some say that Iran is not significantly violating the nuclear deal, or that it's not their fault because the U.S. reimposed sanctions on Iran. But Iran has admitted to violating the deal, those violations have been confirmed by the UN's nuclear watchdog and regardless-as then-Secretary of State Kerry confirmed in writing to the Senate in 2015-the U.S. has ‘full discretion to determine what is and is not' a violation that triggers the snapback."
"Others argue that UNSCR 2231 says only current participants in the Iran deal can invoke the snapback mechanism, and the United States is no longer part of the Iran deal-thanks to President Trump, who courageously and wisely withdrew from it. But those critics are wrong. [...] The entire point of the snapback was to protect the U.S. if Iran exploited the deal to endanger Americans."
And as Sen. Cruz said after the administration announced the move:
"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 has long been a vocal opponent of the catastrophic Obama-Biden Iran Nuclear Deal, noting that Iran had been cheating on the deal, and took a number of actions to prevent the most dangerous regime in the world from possessing the world's most dangerous weapon. Sen. Cruz had called on the administration to reimpose U.N. sanctions on Iran following their attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities, and also introduced legislation dismantle a key aspect of the JCPOA, aiming to end waivers for civil nuclear projects.
READ: Time for Trump to Trigger the UN Snapback on Iran
Sen. Cruz has taken a number of key actions to finally shred the catastrophic Obama-Iran nuclear deal, including:
- Introducing a resolution emphasizing that the deal could not go into effect because the Obama administration was hiding details from Congress.
- Introducing legislation that would have limited the ability of the arms embargo to be lifted in 2015.
- Introducing legislation that would have preserved the U.S. sanctions regime against the Iranian regime lifted by the deal, as well as legislation that would specifically have preserved sanctions on aircraft sales and technology.
- Introducing legislation to disconnect Iran's terror-financing banks from the international financial system.
- Introducing legislation with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) to 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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