Gov. Bobby Jindal and Sen. Bill Cassidy this morning joined a large number of Republicans who immediately voiced skepticism or outright opposition to a nuclear agreement reached with Iran that President Barack Obama announced this morning.
“If Secretary Clinton goes along with President Obama’s efforts to appease Iran, it will make our enemies stronger, endanger our ally Israel and trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East that will destabilize the region,” reads a press release issued by Jindal, who has been busily campaigning for president in Iowa in recent days. “Throughout this process, President Obama appeared more concerned with reaching a deal irrespective of the terms. The result is now a dangerous deal that has put Iran on a path to obtaining a nuclear weapon, depleted America’s military strength in the Gulf, and made Israel less safe. And that certainly makes us less safe here at home.”
Cassidy issued a briefer, but similar, statement.
“If the President gives Iran enough leeway, it’s naive to think they will not continue to develop their nuclear program,” he says in the statement. “No deal is better than a bad deal. If it jeopardizes American security and global stability in any way, Congress cannot support.”
Cassidy’s Republican colleagues in D.C. were also quick to condemn the deal, which aims to curb the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program in return for ending sanctions. Full implementation will be contingent on Iran meeting its obligations to curb its nuclear program and address concerns about possible military dimensions of its work.
As Bloomberg reports, House Speaker John Boehner says the plan “will hand Iran billions in sanctions relief while giving it time and space to reach a break-out threshold to produce a nuclear bomb.”
House Foreign Relations Chairman Ed Royce of California adds the deal will be a “tough sell” in Congress. Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas contended the agreement leaves Iran’s “entire nuclear program intact.”
“The American people are going to repudiate this deal and I believe Congress will kill the deal,” Cotton said on MSNBC minutes after Obama announced the agreement.
Under legislation passed in May, Congress will now have 60 days for public debate and hearings by as many as eight Senate and House committees. Lawmakers then could vote on a joint resolution to approve or reject the nuclear deal, though they also may not act at all.
“I will veto any legislation that prevents the successful implementation of this deal,” Obama said in announcing the deal at the White House. “This is not the time for politics and posturing.”
