Republican presidential candidate Scott Walker told
Newsmax TV unequivocally on Wednesday that he would "terminate the bad deal with Iran immediately" if he were elected to the White House.
"I wouldn't wait to put my cabinet in place or anything else," the Wisconsin governor told "Newsmax Prime" host J.D. Hayworth. "I'm starting plans right now, so I'm ready on day one.
"I would re-impose the congressionally authorized sanctions. I'd work with the Congress to put in place even more crippling sanctions — and then I'd convince our allies to do the same."
Story continues below video.
Watch Newsmax TV on DirecTV Ch. 349, DISH Ch. 223 and Verizon FiOS Ch. 115. Get Newsmax TV on your cable system — Click Here Now
"In the short term, by giving them credibility, by lifting the sanctions, by putting money back in their hands and giving them credibility in the worldwide community, you're empowering the leading country when it comes to state-sponsored terrorism," Walker said.
He added that the as much as $100 billion a year that would flow back into Tehran after being held up for years under the sanctions "isn't going to go back to help the Iranian people, who I don't have a beef with.
"The people in Iran want to be freer. They don't want to live under this oppressive regime under their supreme leader and their president. They want to have more freedom.
"This money's not going to help those people. It's going to go into Hezbollah. It's going to go to Hamas," Walker said.
"Those are two either side of Israel, two entities that are directly targeted towards taking out Israel. It's going to go into Assad in Syria. It's going to help the Shiite-based militias in Iraq. It's going to help the Houthi rebels in Yemen.
"This is not a good thing not just for Israel for but that entire region — and it's certainly not a good thing for the United States," he said. "I believe Iran is developing the technology to send intercontinental ballistic missiles not just into Israel but eventually into the United States.
"It's a bad deal," the governor said. "It needs to be terminated."
Further, Walker pledged "to make sure there's no daylight between Israel and the United States."
"We're going to take swift action to terminate that deal early on to avoid it. The irony is the president gives this false choice that you either accept his deal or you lead to war.
"We shouldn't take anything off the table — and we certainly shouldn't have daylight between ourselves and the state of Israel," he said.
The governor also praised Ronald Reagan as the best president on national security.
"He not only rebuilt the military, he showed us how to stand up for our allies, he showed us how to stand up to our enemies — and without apology.
"He stood for strong American values, and that led to one of the most peaceful times in modern American history. What that shows is effective national security and foreign policies is not about speeches or trips, it's about leadership.
"I'm going to put good people in as secretary of state, as secretary of defense, national security advisor," Walker said. "I'm going to work with the joint chiefs and others out there.
"I've spent the time in the last six or seven months not only preparing for debates, but preparing to be the president of the United States."
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.