Ron Paul 2012 2
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas Reuters

Former Rep. Ron Paul announced that his son, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), will “probably” make a bid for the presidency in 2016.

Paul appeared on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront” Monday night to discuss his son’s potential run for president in the 2016 election. Ron Paul, who ran for president himself in 1988, 2008 and 2012, says he believes Rand will “probably” seek the presidency.

“I think he probably will. I mean he’s been on TV hinting that he very well might,” Paul said of his son. “I think he is handling himself quite well.”

“Well, I think he’s going to make up his own mind. And I had my opportunity to give him advice when he was much younger,” Paul continued. “He’s been a pretty independent person, which you would expect, and he’s very libertarian-like. And therefore he will make up his own mind.”

In recent months, Rand Paul has been touted as a potential front-runner in the 2016 Republican primaries, though the freshman senator has refused to definitively discuss his candidacy. He has, however, admitted that his wife does not like the idea of a presidential run.

In the same interview, Paul, who has frequently challenged President Obama, praised Obama’s work in seeking a diplomatic solution to Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

“I think under the circumstances it’s a great breakthrough. And during the campaign you heard me say it very often, we ought to do more diplomacy and less shooting from the hip,” Paul said.

At the same time, Paul also expressed concern that Congress could potentially undo all of Obama’s good work regarding Iranian diplomacy.

“I’m frightened that the Congress right now, even though I’m always upholding Congress to try do the right thing and curtail the presidential potential powers, I’m afraid Congress will come in and just block this by saying, ‘No, what we need are more sanctions to see how many more Iranian people we can kill, like we did in Iraq.’” Paul continued. “I hope the president is going to be successful on this. I’m cheering him on.”

Watch a video of Paul on "OutFront" below.

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