Tom Cotton

On Monday’s “Hugh Hewitt Show,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) argued that an anywhere, any time inspection regime can’t truly work in Iran and “the only true guarantee, in my opinion, has always been that they take the route of countries that disarmed in the aftermath of the Cold War and kind of threw open the doors and said, come look at everything, take everything away, we want nothing to do with nuclear research.”

Host Hugh Hewitt asked, “So, is anywhere, any time inspections on demand a [sine qua non] for you of a good deal?”

Cotton responded, “I think it’s an important part, but, to be honest, I’ve never believed that kind of inspection regime can be truly effective in Iran. First off, Iran is twice the size of Texas, and we’re talking about things that might fill up a high school gymnasium, maybe an NFL practice facility. But, second, Iran’s leaders have a long demonstrated history of lying. And the way you know they’re lying is when they’re moving their lips. So, the only true guarantee, in my opinion, has always been that they take the route of countries that disarmed in the aftermath of the Cold War and kind of threw open the doors and said, come look at everything, take everything away, we want nothing to do with nuclear research.”