In 2012, Paul was one of two Republican senators to vote against a bipartisan bill proposing tough sanctions on Iran. Paul stood by his decision, saying he thinks “all options should be on the table” and explained why the government should not rule out containment of a nuclear Iran.

“They said containment will never ever, ever be our policy. We woke up one day and Pakistan had nuclear weapons. If that would have been our policy toward Pakistan, we would be at war with Pakistan. We woke up one day and China had nuclear weapons. We woke up one day and Russia had them.”

“The people who say ‘by golly, we will never stand for that,” he continued, “they are voting for war.”