During a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on Thursday, Rubio faulted President Barack Obama “for striking a bad deal with Iran”, saying the next president would have no obligation to uphold the agreement.
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In his opening statement Thursday, Corker exposed a glaring flaw in the Obama administration’s logic in selling the deal to Congress. “That’s ridiculous and it’s unfair and it’s wrong”, the senator said. And he says it’s impractical to think the U.S. could marshal a global coalition of partners to impose such sanctions pressure after turning down a deal that the other world powers in the negotiation “believe is a good one”.
Marco Rubio, who is seeking the 2016 Republican presidential nomination, repeatedly warned that the next president could overturn the deal, which isn’t a binding treaty.
Mr Kerry countered that no amount of sanctions or even military action could erase Iran’s knowledge of how to enrich uranium, and that the deal struck in Vienna puts in place an unprecedented inspections regime that will catch Tehran if it violates the deal, and significantly rolls back its capabilities for the next decade.
Going into the trip, Pentagon officials said Carter was not traveling to Israel to change Netanyahu’s mind about the deal but rather to reinforce the U.S. commitment to Israel’s security, to address bilateral security challenges and to discuss how the U.S. could bolster cooperation in addressing regional threats.
Responding to criticism that sanctions would be lifted too quickly, Lew said it would not prevent the United States from imposing additional sanctions over issues such as human rights violations if deemed necessary. At one point, Kerry told Rubio, “You know, I listened to a long list of your objections here about it (the nuclear deal), but there’s no alternative that you or anybody else has proposed…”
Mr. Corker said that he was “fairly depressed” by the confidential briefing lawmakers received on Wednesday on the terms of the accord, and that administration officials had engaged in “hyperbole” by saying the choice was “between this deal and war“. Saudi Arabia and Iran are fierce rivals, and al-Jubeir met separately with Kerry and Obama last week.
The hearing unfolded as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., demanded the administration immediately turn over the text of side agreements between Iran and the worldwide Atomic Energy Agency.
Kerry praised members of the negotiating team and said nobody “pulled the wool” over their eyes. He also cautioned against making sweeping assumptions about the fate of the deal in Congress this early in the process.
The Iran nuclear deal could be moot as soon as President Obama leaves office, Sen.
Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz – who testified in front of the senate committee – also defended the deal. Ben Cardin of Maryland, Congress has 60 days to review the deal and pass a resolution of approval or disapproval. “I look at the things that they need to do, the way it’s laid out, and I don’t think you could more perfectly lay it out”.
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Hassan Rouhani, in a speech broadcast live on television, said the deal represented “a new page in history” and was wanted by the Iranian people.
