Sen. John McCain is giving the thumbs-down to the framework of a deal intended to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
The Arizona Republican is a respected voice on national security and persistent critic of President Obama and his drive to reach detente with Tehran. He has long argued that Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry were making too many concessions in their zeal to arrive at a deal with Iran. That was essentially McCain’s conclusion Thursday as he reviewed the details of a tentative framework for an accord between the U.S. and the world powers.
Of particular concern to McCain, Iran remains free to make trouble for the U.S. and its allies across the Middle East.
“Ultimately, we must recognize that Iran is clearly on the offensive across the Middle East. Its malign activities, from Iraq and Syria to Lebanon and Yemen, are provoking a regional sectarian conflict of massive proportions. We cannot, and should not, divorce our nuclear diplomacy with Iran from the larger strategic challenge that Iran poses. I am concerned about the impact that today’s agreement may have on the growing tensions and conflicts in the Middle East — for as Dr. Henry Kissinger has observed, the Administration’s approach to nuclear diplomacy with Iran has moved from preventing proliferation to managing it,” McCain said in a statement.
The senator laid out his objections point by point:
* It appears that Iran will not be required to ship its stockpile of enriched uranium out of the country, as previously demanded.
* It appears that there is no process yet for resolving the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program, which is a prerequisite for any effective verification regime.
* It appears that Iran will be allowed to conduct research and development on advanced centrifuge technologies.
* It appears that Iran will not be required to close its hardened military nuclear facility at Fordow, as previously demanded.
* It appears that international inspectors will not be permitted to go anywhere in Iran, at any time, to monitor Iranian compliance.
* It appears that the agreement does, in fact, contain a sunset, after which Iran will be allowed to maintain and possibly expand an industrial-sized enrichment program.
“These and other issues must be addressed for any agreement to be a good agreement. That is why the Congress must be actively involved in reviewing and ultimately approving a nuclear agreement with Iran,” McCain said.
