Tom Cotton: The Iran deal is dead

Sen. Tom Cotton said he expects President-elect Trump step up enforcement of the Iran nuclear deal but stop short of pulling the U.S. out of the agreement. But that won't save the deal.

The Arkansas Republican, a vocal opponent of President Obama's deal with Iran to limit the rogue regime's nuclear weapons program, said Tehran is likely to react to stricter policing by the incoming Trump administration by crying foul and refusing to comply going forward.

"I believe the Iran deal is dead," Cotton said, during an interview with the Washington Examiner's "Examining Politics" podcast.

Congressional Republicans are broadly opposed to the Iran deal. The outgoing administration, in negotiation with other world powers, signed an executive agreement, meaning it is not a treaty, giving Trump the power to end U.S. participation in the accord.

However, the U.S. re-imposing sanctions on Iran for, in Washington's view, continuing to develop a nuclear weapons program, would not affect the other nations involved, and they would be free to continue with the deal and granting Tehran sanctions relief.