WASHINGTON – House Speaker Paul Ryan said the Iran nuclear deal that was opposed by Republicans isn’t going away — despite President Trump’s pledge to rip up the President Obama-era pact.
“Well, a lot of that toothpaste is already out of the tube,” Ryan told NBC’s “Meet the Press” in an interview that aired Sunday. “I never supported the deal in the first place. I thought it was a huge mistake. But the multilateral sanctions are done.”
The Trump Administration slapped new sanctions Friday on Iran after its ballistic missile launch. But the Wisconsin Republican said the sanctions shouldn’t be viewed as a fresh attempt to undo the Iran nuclear agreement that lifted other sanctions on Iran in return for dismantling its nuclear weapons program.
“Yeah, I don’t think you’re going to go back and reconstitute the multilateral sanctions that were in place,” Ryan said.
Ryan said the nuclear deal should be enforced, while Iran could be subject to other sanctions for non-nuclear missile testing and terrorist activity.
“I think the key is to rigorously enforce this deal. But also, remember, they’re testing ballistic missiles. They’re still the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Human rights abuses galore. And so those are where I think we also need to ratchet up sanctions,” Ryan said.
Trump had pledged during the campaign to rip up the deal as president and Republicans in Congress widely panned the agreement as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned it during a passionate speech to Congress.
Last week, the Trump Administration put Iran “on notice” and followed through with new sanctions connected to Iran’s ballistic missile program.
Trump tweeted that Iran “is playing with fire” and “ they don’t appreciate how “kind” President Obama was to them. Not me!”
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