Trump’s Iran deal exit triggers congressional sparring
President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal has congressional lawmakers butting heads over the impact.
Rep. John Garamendi, D-Calif., who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, said exiting the deal will likely lead to sanctions that will hurt Europe’s economy.
“Clearly, the stability in that entire region has been seriously harmed,” Garamendi told FOX Business’ Liz Claman on Tuesday.
Trump’s pledge to apply the “highest level” of sanctions on Iran may hurt multinational companies including Boeing.
“They’ll recover,” Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., told Claman. “America is strong, and our economy is strong.”
The Iran deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was negotiated by John Kerry when he was secretary of state under President Barack Obama.
The Georgia congressman argues that the nuclear agreement was flawed from its inception and allowed Iran to increase its military capability while breaking the rules.
“Not only is Iran bad actors, I would say they are terrorists,” Loudermilk said in a “Countdown to the Closing Bell” interview. “They are the world’s largest funders of terrorism, and we infuse their economy.”
Garamendi cites former senior government officials when he concludes that there’s no evidence Iran is violating the requirements of the nuclear deal.
“The inspections are under way, and if they move things, they leave behind a very, very important mark called isotopes,” he said.
Loudermilk said the real concern is that Iran will begin attacking Israel with ballistic missiles.
“They have these ballistic missiles – many of them because we’ve given them the funds,” he said.