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Ryan weighs in on Australia, sanctions on Iran

Thursday, February 02, 2017 - 01:13

In the wake of Tehran's ballistic missile test, U.S. House Speaker says he would support additional sanctions on Iran, while also addressing concerns about U.S. relations with Australia. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

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ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION) U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday said he would support additional sanctions on Iran, backing a tougher line against Tehran after it test-fired a ballistic missile. "I would be in favor of additional sanctions on Iran," Ryan told reporters at a weekly press conference. "We need to have a tough-on-Iran policy ... We should stop appeasing Iran." Ryan also addressed concerns about U.S. ties with ally Australia over a reported acrimonious phone call between their two leaders and U.S. President Donald Trump's assertion that an existing refugee swap deal was "dumb." Trump described the resettlement plan as "the worst deal ever," the Washington Post reported, and accused Australia of trying to export the "next Boston bombers." The call had been scheduled to last an hour but Trump cut it short after 25 minutes when Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull tried to turn to subjects such as Syria, according to the newspaper. The apparent breakdown between Washington and Canberra that has developed over the resettlement deal could have serious repercussions. Australia and the United States are among the five nations that make up the Five Eyes group, the world's leading intelligence-sharing network. Turnbull told reporters that he had been surprised and disappointed that details of the call with Trump had been leaked but gave few particulars other than to deny reports that Trump had hung up on him. "As far as the call is concerned, the report that the president hung up is not correct. The call ended courteously. And as far as the nature of the discussion, it was very frank and forthright," he told a Sydney radio station on Thursday. The United States would resettle up to 1,250 asylum seekers held in offshore processing camps on Pacific islands in Papua New Guinea and Nauru. In return, Australia would resettle refugees from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.