Ben Cardin

Failure to impose any consequences on Iran for violations of the U.N. Security Council resolutions and other destabilizing actions sets a very dangerous precedent.

We are going to be watching very closely and we are going to be prepared to do what we need to, to make it clear that we are going to use every tool in our toolbox and increase our toolbox so that we can act on these issues.

I do not deny that this administration or the next administration, whether it is a Democratic or Republican administration, will want to do things their way and will not particularly want Congress' advice on how to be tough on terrorism…

Is there anything that Congress should do now, in contemplation of this agreement going forward?

But the problem is Iran is pushing forward currently under sanctions in a lot of different regions and in a lot of different areas.

I was hoping that would be your response.

We entered into these diplomatic negotiations because of the significance of Iran in the Middle East.

We have to decide whether this agreement puts us on a better path or worse path to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear weapons state.

The Middle East is critically important to U.S. national security.

I think we envisioned it would be this way, but it was your leadership that really focused us and used our time in a most effective way.

I will never criticize anybody for their vote, because I think everybody, hopefully, will vote their conscience based on what they feel is in the national interest of our country.

Congress should have eyes on those documents.

The Congressional Review Act that we passed envisioned that Congress will be involved beyond just the review period.

Our confidence level will have to decline.

There is just no reason for that optimism.

My confidence level is very low.

Do you think that we will be able to get adequate information to connect the dots?

So much of this depends upon the IAEA, and the Director General will be here tomorrow.

As was the case during the Cold War, it is possible that meaningful diplomacy, combined with pressure, under the right conditions can yield positive results for U.S. national security.

Well, first, Chairman Corker, thank you very much for your leadership in the way that our committee has moved forward during this review period.

Information about the IAEA would be critically important and we should hear it directly from the IAEA.

I think at the heart of this is, have we given up too much of our power to deal with all these other risks that Iran presents that will actually go up over time?

The use of financial power and the power to exclude from the global system is one of our principal if not most effective tools.

If we have to snap back, if there is a substantial violation that we have to take to the international community and maybe exercise our veto, how quickly can they bite strong enough to affect Iranian behavior?

I would argue that rather than go for an oil embargo-type sanction, we actually have to think of a better policy response to deal with the terrorist issue that we have identified.