[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 75 (Wednesday, May 9, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S2586]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                      Nuclear Agreement with Iran

  Mr. President, I also want to take a moment to discuss the Iran 
agreement and the President's decision. Yesterday, the President 
announced the United States will unilaterally withdraw from the JCPOA, 
commonly referred to as the Iran agreement.
  In 2015, I supported the Iran agreement--although I may have 
negotiated differently--but we had the agreement that was before us. I 
supported it because I believed it was the best available option for 
putting the brakes on a nuclear weapon for Iran. I still believe that 
today. We cannot allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. In this 
critical time, as we head into negotiations on North Korea's nuclear 
weapons, we cannot be backing away from international agreements and 
nuclear inspections.
  Preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon is one of the most 
important objectives of our national security policy. I strongly 
advocated for, and supported, the economic sanctions that brought Iran 
to the negotiating table and the subsequent sanctions passed last year 
to address Iran's destabilizing activities and promotion of terrorism.
  Unilateral withdrawal from the agreement has resulted in a splintered 
international partnership with our European allies that has been 
critical to preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. We should, 
instead, be negotiating a more comprehensive agreement that includes 
Iran's nuclear ambitions today and in the future, ballistic missile 
tests, and destabilizing activities that pose a direct threat to Israel 
and other allies.
  We can conduct those negotiations with our allies as part of a team 
without withdrawing from the existing agreement.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Lee). The Senator from New Hampshire.