Washington Examiner - Ted Cruz: Cancel Iran Deal and Move Embassy to Jerusalem

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By David Drucker

Sen. Ted Cruz promises a bold shift in U.S. foreign policy if he's elected president that would cancel President Obama's arms deal with Iran and move the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem.

On the eve of remarks to the Republican Jewish Coalition, the White House contender laid out bullet points for his approach to the Middle East in an interview with the Washington Examiner that would sharply rebuke Obama's eight years. Cruz's call to get tough with enemies of the United States, especially Tehran, and prioritize relationships with key allies like Israel should go over well with the 800 coalition members gathered in Sin City for the group's annual spring meeting.

"The most pressing national security concern for the next president in January 2017 is going to be to deal with an Iran that will likely be on the cusp of acquiring nuclear weapons because this deal that the president has negotiated will in my opinion only accelerate Iran's move toward nuclear weapons," Cruz said Friday afternoon during a 20 minute discussion in the lobby of the Mandarin Oriental hotel, just off the Las Vegas strip.

The Obama administration and world powers are potentially in the final stages of negotiations with Iran to limit the Islamic regime's nuclear weapons capability. Most Republicans and many Democrats in Congress are leery of removing crippling economic sanctions against the country because they fear the emerging deal would fail to halt Tehran's march toward a bomb. Obama has conceded that Iran could be permitted to freely accelerate its program in as little as a decade.

Cruz said the U.S. would not be bound under his presidency to the accord Obama and world powers are negotiating with Iran, if it fails to win approval in Congress. Asked directly if he would cancel it or pull the U.S. out of this framework, Cruz responded flatly: "Yes."

Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have been engaging in open rhetorical warfare with each other over the agreement. The president contends the agreement will reduce the threat of an Iranian nuclear attack on Israel; the prime minister counters that the developing deal could increase the likelihood of Iran being able to threaten Tel Aviv with nukes. Under a Cruz White House, this spat between the U.S. and Israel would come to an end.

To send an unambiguous signal of the U.S. reaffirming its historic relationship with Israel and priority of the Jewish state as a key ally in the Middle East, Cruz said he would immediately order the American embassy moved from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, Israel's capital. Asked specifically if this would be his policy and if he would immediately act on it, Cruz said: "Yes."

U.S. policy is to eventually move the embassy to Jerusalem, but has been delayed by successive presidents to avoid hampering a hoped-for peace agreement between the Israelis and the Palestinians, who also claim Jerusalem as their capital. Israel claims Israel as its undivided seat of government, but some peace proposals have envisioned splitting the city, with one half remaining in Israel and the other becoming part of a new state of Palestine.

"Fortunately, one of the areas where U.S. policy can change most quickly is foreign policy," Cruz said.

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