Sen. Cotton discusses upcoming US-Iran nuclear talks, tariff strategies

U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said military force is certainly on the table if U.S.-Iran talks to curb Iran’s nuclear capabilities do not result in concessions from Tehran.

In an exclusive interview with Talk Business & Politics new “D.C. Edition” podcast and newsletter, Cotton said Iran is a threat far beyond the Middle East.

“Iran can’t be allowed to have a nuclear weapon,” said Cotton. “We would like to achieve that goal through peaceful diplomatic means. But as the president has said repeatedly in the last few weeks, if they refuse to make a deal to disarm their nuclear program, then we have to use military force – it’s just that simple. We cannot allow a crazed, theocratic tyranny to have nuclear weapons. And, that’s not just because we’re worried about our friends in Israel or in the broader Middle East, but because it’s an immediate threat to the United States homeland.”

Cotton, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee and is the third-ranking member in the Senate Republican leadership as Chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, said Iran is politically weak at this moment in world history.

“Iran is at a very weak point. After Israel in the last year has devastated its air and missile defenses, it’s terrorist proxies – Hamas and Hezbollah – and while we’re in the process of devastating their last terrorist proxy in Yemen, I think the combination of Iran’s weakness, but also the threat of its nuclear program is bringing things to a head quickly,” Cotton added.

“I don’t want to say in advance or signal to Iran what we might or might not do. I do want to say that this would not be a campaign – whether it’s the United States or Israel in combination or working with other nations like we saw in Afghanistan and Iraq – no one, no sensible person anyway, is proposing a large ground invasion into Iran to try to overthrow the government and occupy it for years,” he said.

In the recent interview conducted Friday (April 11), Sen. Cotton discusses how he’s approaching his chairmanship and leadership positions, and how those posts can help him better serve Arkansas.

Other highlights of the interview include:

• His support for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, the new U.S. ambassador to Israel;
• Tariffs and the impact Trump’s policies had on the stock market this week;
• The need for long-term policies to rebalance trade fairness; and
• Sen. Chuck Grassley’s bill to bring tariff authority back to Congress.

You can listen to Cotton’s full interview here.