Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) struggled to defend President Donald Trump’s Iran agreement during a tense interview on CNN’s “First of All with Victor Blackwell” on Saturday, as the host repeatedly pressed her and cut her off on contradictions between the deal and the war’s stated goals.
Blackwell played a clip of Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying at the start of the conflict that the U.S. aimed “to eliminate the threat of Iran’s short-range ballistic missiles,” then a clip of Trump at the G7 saying it was “a little bit unfair” for Iran not to keep some missiles “in relative proportion” to Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
“How is it a win at the end for the president to say it’s okay to keep the missiles?” Blackwell asked.
Luna called Iran’s full denuclearization the “biggest win,” and said she didn’t think Iran would “need ballistic missiles” if the deal holds. Blackwell cut in, demanding to know, “Why wouldn’t they need ballistic missiles?”
When Luna suggested Iran’s new leadership would focus on integrating with the world, Blackwell cut in again.
“What’s that based on?” he asked.
“If they didn’t need them, then why allow them to keep them?” he added.
As Luna insisted Iran would integrate with the world and establish relationships with other countries, she conceded, “I don’t think that I’m to the point where I would support them fully having this,” calling it her “hopes that they wouldn’t need” ballistic missiles.
The conversation then turned to Luna’s comment that Trump’s deal is “way better” than the Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
“How so?” asked Blackwell.
As Luna began claiming Trump’s deal makes Iran promise in writing to never possess a nuclear weapon, Blackwell cut her off again.
“That was also in the JCPOA, though,” he butt in. Luna insisted this time is different because it’s in writing.
Blackwell fact-checked Luna to her face.
“The IAEA conducted the inspections and determined, up until the point that President Trump withdrew the U.S., they were in compliance with the JCPOA,” he said.
Luna claimed U.S. intelligence she received showed Iran was not compliant.
“And the IDF,” Blackwell interjected, as Luna ignored him.
Luna attacked the Obama-era deal’s “pallets of cash,” insisting “we’re not paying the Iranians to mothball their nuclear program.” But Blackwell noted the $1.7 billion returned then “was their money that was returned to them with interest,” not taxpayer funds, throwing Trump’s own comment in her face that the U.S. froze Iranian money and “I guess we’re going to have to give it back.”
Luna pivoted to the $300 billion fund she said regional partners would finance. Trump has dismissed that figure as “Fake News,” even as critics say the administration’s evasiveness signals unease about the deal.
“Congresswoman, I’m not here to defend the JCPOA,” Blackwell said. “You just said in your social media post this is way better than the JCPOA. And when I asked how, you talked about the returning of pallets of cash. The Obama-era deal returned their money. President Trump says they would.”
The two continued talking over each other as Blackwell continued to point out the similarities between the deals.
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