Cruz: Obama admin gave Iran a win, sold out Israel

Much has been said of the raw deal cut this weekend between the Obama administration and Iran. Too much to reiterate. So to quickly cover this development, I thought my Senator's statement reflects that of a host of conservative thought on the matter, via his Foreign Policy op-ed...

According to the interim agreement regarding Iran's nuclear program that was reached this weekend in Geneva, not one centrifuge will be destroyed. Not one pound of enriched uranium will leave Iran. Not one American unjustly detained in Iran's notorious prisons will be released. But Iran will start to receive, in a matter of days, $7 billion in relief from international economics sanctions.

Cruz says this appears to be "an unfortunate case of history repeating itself," referencing North Korea's treachery, inevitably culminating in that country's first successful nuke testing in 2006. Likewise, Cruz says, "the mullahs in Tehran can now laugh all the way to the bank while they spend the time and money they have gained in Geneva pursuing nuclear capability."

All the smiling embraces between diplomats in Geneva after the interim deal was signed notwithstanding, the Iranian regime remains a brutal and oppressive dictatorship that pursues nuclear weapons for the purpose of dominating the Middle East and threatening America and its allies, notably Israel. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry should reconsider their policy of rapprochement with Iran that is dismaying to Jerusalem and encouraging to Tehran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu predicted this agreement would be a "very, very bad deal" and has now correctly identified it as an "historic mistake." Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani tweeted his satisfaction, saying that "breaking down the architecture for sanctions has begun."

The administration has gotten it backwards and it is time to reverse course before any further damage is done.

It's as if the Obama regime wants the Middle East more destabilized than what they're certain to leave it, helping to shift more influence away from the Saudis to the Iranians, putting our Israeli allies in a more precarious position (possibly forcing their hand), and further delegitimizing America's foreign policy in an attempt to legitimize Iran's new Muslim cleric leader.

Related link: Iran nuclear deal: Saudi Arabia warns it will strike out on its own