House Speaker John Boehner says Congress will move “very” quickly to impose new sanctions against Iran if President Barack Obama isn’t able to strike a deal to thwart the Middle Eastern country’s nuclear ambitions.
And the Ohio Republican said he isn’t optimistic that Iran will keep its word even if Obama and several other leading countries do reach a deal with Iran.
READ: Boehner slams White House treatment of Netanyahu
His comments came during an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” Sunday.
“I just don’t understand why we would sign an agreement with a group of people who, in my opinion, have no intention of keeping their word,” Boehner said.
Asked how quickly the House would move to further sanctions against Iran if no deal is reached, Boehner responded: “Very.”
“Listen, the sanctions were working,” he said. “They would have never come to the table – and frankly, we should have kept the sanctions in place so that we could have gotten to a real agreement. And the sanctions are going to come and they’re going to come quick.”
Boehner is set to travel to Israel this week, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who’s been skeptical of the Iran nuclear negotiations, just won re-election.