The Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee warned Monday that the Obama administration is on a dangerous path toward a deal that would let Iran continue its nuclear program, and said if Iran pushes for more concessions related to transparency, President Obama should “please pause and consider rethinking the entire approach.”
“It is breathtaking to see how far from your original goals and statements the P5+1 have come during negotiations with Iran,” Sen. Bob Corker wrote in a letter to Obama.
“Under your leadership, six of the world’s most important nations have allowed an isolated country with roguish policies to move from having its nuclear program dismantled to having its nuclear proliferation managed,” he added. “Negotiators have moved from a 20-year agreement to what is in essence a 10-year agreement that allows Iran to simultaneously continue development of an advanced ballistic missile program and research and development of advanced centrifuges.”
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Corker said he was worried by new, unconfirmed reports that Obama is about to make another concession, one that would allow Iran avoid having to admit having certain nuclear capabilities, and instead allowing the International Atomic Energy Agency made determinations about these capabilities without any confirmation from Iran. Corker said that if this concession has been offered, it would be a mistake.
“By not requiring Iran to explicitly disclose their previous weaponization efforts on the front end of any final agreement, we will likely never know, in a timely fashion, the full extend of Iranian capabilities,” he warned.
Corker said he’s aware that Obama sees the Iran deal as a “legacy” issue from him, but warned that it might be best to walk away from the deal that’s shaping up so far.
“Walking away from a bad deal at this point would take courage, but it would be the best thing for the United States, the region and the world,” he wrote.
Read his letter here:
