Lee Zeldin: “I thank the gentleman from Tennessee. It is so great to have him here not just for tonight's remarks and his leadership…”

“I thank the gentleman from Tennessee. It is so great to have him here not just for tonight's remarks and his leadership on this issue, it is just so great to have him in Congress. I thank the gentleman so much for his friendship and for his important leadership. Mr. Speaker, last month, President Trump correctly withdrew the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPOA, otherwise known as the Iran nuclear deal. Tonight, during this hour, several Members of Congress were speaking here on the House floor regarding the administration's strategy to curb Iran's malign interests in the region and ensure Iran is no longer rewarded for its bad behavior. The Iran deal was fatally flawed for what was in it and fatally flawed for what was not in it. First, it is important to reflect on key lessons that should be learned from the manner in which the United States made several bad errors negotiating this so-called deal. {time} 2015 We must learn these lessons to make sure that history never repeats itself. First, the United States signed a preliminary agreement in 2013 that preemptively traded a large portion of our leverage even before formal negotiations began. The Iranians came to the table desperate for sanctions relief. They were not there as freedom-loving, good citizens of the world, nor were they aspiring to be. The leverage was sanctions relief, which was proof that the sanctions were working.…”