Marco Rubio: Iran deal ‘undermines our national security’

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida on Tuesday blasted the announced deal on Iran’s nuclear program, saying President Obama has “consistently negotiated from a position of weakness, giving concession after concession to a regime that has American blood on its hands, holds Americans hostage and has consistently violated every agreement it ever signed.”

“I have said from the beginning of this process that I would not support a deal with Iran that allows the mullahs to retain the ability to develop nuclear weapons, threaten Israel, and continue their regional expansionism and support for terrorism,” said Mr. Rubio, a 2016 GOP presidential candidate. “Based on what we know thus far, I believe that this deal undermines our national security.”

Mr. Rubio has been a leading critic of Mr. Obama’s foreign policy endeavors, notably the administration’s re-establishing diplomatic ties with Cuba.

“I expect that a significant majority in Congress will share my skepticism of this agreement and vote it down,” Mr. Rubio said. “Failure by the president to obtain congressional support will tell the Iranians and the world that this is Barack Obama’s deal, not an agreement with lasting support from the United States. It will then be left to the next president to return us to a position of American strength and re-impose sanctions on this despicable regime until it is truly willing to abandon its nuclear ambitions and is no longer a threat to international security.”