Kaine Statement Following Belligerent Trump Tweet On Iran

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations and Armed Services Committees, released the following statement after President Trump tweeted last night about Iran:

“President Trump’s belligerent tweet is another alarming warning sign that he’s blundering toward war with Iran. Just months after the President backed out of the deal that prevented Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, the Administration’s hostile rhetoric and efforts to stir up internal protests against the regime are dangerous. The U.S. should continue to target Iran with tough sanctions, but we should not get pulled into another preventable war in the Middle East.  The prospect of President Trump starting a catastrophic war should concern us all, and we must be vigilant in stopping it.”

Kaine has been a leading voice on Iran, including co-authoring the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015, which gave Congress the right to review the Iran deal before Congressional sanctions could be lifted.  He has consistently supported efforts to push back on Iran’s destabilizing behavior, including supporting the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act of 2017, which strengthened sanctions on Iran for its human rights abuses, ballistic missile testing, and support for terrorism, including Hezbollah, and voting in 2016 to extend the Iran Sanctions Act. He has spoken out about his concerns that the Trump Administration is on a path toward war with Iran.

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