Republican presidential candidate Ohio Governor John Kasich stated that he would “suspend” the Iran nuclear deal and “put the sanctions back on” due to their recent missile launch during a town hall broadcast on Wednesday’s “On the Record” on the Fox News Channel.
Kasich outlined [relevant remarks begin around 3:40] how he would respond to the recent missile launch by Iran if he was president, “I would want to hear all the details. And now what I would say, after learning about the details, is I would actually move to suspend the nuclear agreement, because this — these missile tests, and particularly with the inflammatory language about destroying Israel, is so bad, such a violation of the spirit of agreement, I would suspend it, try to get our allies to suspend it. I’d put the sanctions back on, and say, look, we tried to make an agreement with you. This is not just about all the crossed Ts and dotted Is, this is also about the spirit of that agreement, which you now have violated. That’s what I would do.”
He added, “I did not say we need to rip it up on day one, because we don’t know what’s going to happen. We don’t know — but now, that this has happened, if I were president, I would call them and say, I’m sorry, but we’re suspending this agreement. And while it may not be a direct violation, it is a violation of the whole intent of the improving of relations, and you violated the whole thing. And I would say, look, you get your act together and get back to us. That’s what I would do.”
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