US Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said on Sunday that the Iranian regime frequently violates international law, and he expects the same rule breaking should the U.S. reach a final nuclear agreement with Tehran.
“Unfortunately, Iran is an outlaw regime,” he said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
“They’re anti-American,” he said. “They’re terrorist-sponsoring.”
“Just two days ago, two days ago, the supposedly moderate president of Iran, the kind of people that the [Obama] administration hopes to empower, was in the streets chanting, ‘death to America’ while people were burning American flags and Israeli flags,” Sen. Cotton added.
Sen. Cotton argued on Sunday that US President Barack Obama had already given the Iranian regime too much power and prestige.
“Iran is destabilizing the Middle East in Iraq, in Syria, in Lebanon, in Yemen,” he said. “They continue to be the world’s worst sponsor of state terrorism.”
“And by engaging in these negotiations, by granting these concessions to Iran, by not demanding, for instance, that Iran release immediately the four hostages that it holds who are American citizens, this administration has elevated Iran’s role in the region,” Sen. Cotton added.
“The president has even said that he would be happy to see Iran play a role of a very successful regional power.”
Sen. Cotton, who sits on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, has been one of the loudest critics on negotiating with the Iranian regime. In March, Sen. Cotton wrote a letter to the Iranian regime’s leadership threatening that Congress would veto any unsatisfactory deal.
Talks in Vienna between Tehran and six major powers pushed into their 17th day on Monday with top officials of the mullahs’ regime saying the talks could go on for days.
Diplomats close to the talks said there were contingency plans for an announcement ceremony if the negotiators sealed an agreement, which would open the door to ending international sanctions against the regime in exchange for at least a decade of curbs on its nuclear program.