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Rubio: Iran Sanctions Amendment 'Deserves a Vote'

Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) called for a vote on Iran sanctions Wednesday on the Senate floor. The proposed sanctions amendment would be attached to veterans assistance legislation.

Rubio said proponents of the bill were forced to pursue this avenue because Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) has blocked action on the measure.

The Florida senator warned further negotiations with the Iranians are doomed to fail and will inevitably lead to the rogue nation acquiring a nuclear weapon and require U.S. military intervention:

MARCO RUBIO: If in the end these negotiations fail as I tragically have to tell you they are destined to fail, and Iran retains the enrichment capability and eventually develops a nuclear weapon, it is the men and women in uniform of these United States, our sons and our daughters, our neighbors and our friends, our mothers, our brothers, our sisters, and our fathers, who we will is ask as we always do to go solve the problem for us. But if we put in place sanctions that clearly articulate and lay out the price they will have to pay to continue with these ambitions, we may able to delay that and even to prevent it. Otherwise that day will come, this piper will be paid, and I hope the price will not be so high. But I fear that that's where we're headed. On the verge of making an extraordinary geopolitical blunder that will be very difficult to undo or reverse once it's already made. And so all we're asking for is let's have a vote on this. This matters enough to the American people, this matters enough to the safety and the future of our children and future generations. This matters enough to the world. It deserves a full debate and it deserves a vote and if you're against it, you can vote against it. If you're against it, you can debate against it. We want to hear these arguments and your thoughts but why can't we vote on it? It deserves a vote, it's that important.

Rubio's speech followed remarks earlier today by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R., N.H.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) who both called for a vote on the bill: