Members of the Florida congressional delegation welcomed the news that the major powers had reached a deal with Iran, ending many of the economic sanctions against that Middle Eastern nation in return for freezing its nuclear program. The Obama administration announced late on Sunday that a six-month agreement had been reached as both sides now gear up toward reaching a long-term agreement.
Shortly after the announcement, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., offered a short statement praising the agreement.
It is a choice between a pause or imminent war, insisted Nelson, who sits on the Armed Services, Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees. I choose a verifiable pause.
But Nelsons colleague U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who also sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee, was dismissive of the agreement, inisting Iran needed to face more sanctions.
"This agreement will not 'freeze' Iran's nuclear program and won't require the regime to suspend all enrichment as required by multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, Rubio insisted. By allowing the Iranian regime to retain a sizable nuclear infrastructure, this agreement makes a nuclear Iran more likely. There is now an even more urgent need for Congress to increase sanctions until Iran completely abandons its enrichment and reprocessing capabilities.
"This agreement shows other rogue states that wish to go nuclear that you can obfuscate, cheat, and lie for a decade, and eventually the United States will tire and drop key demands. Iran will likely use this agreement -- and any that follows that does not require any real concessions -- to obtain a nuclear weapons capability, Rubio added. "This agreement is a blow to our allies in the region who are already concerned about America's commitment to their security and it sends the wrong message to the Iranian people, who continue to suffer under the repressive rule of their leaders who have only their own self-preservation in mind.
"Just days ago, Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei, who will oversee implementation of this agreement, was calling Israel a 'rabid dog' and accusing the United States of war crimes, Rubio said in conclusion. Yet today President Obama is asking us to accept the pledges of this regime, which still refuses to end its support for terrorism and admit the illicit nature of its past nuclear work."
Reactions from Floridians in the U.S. House were also mixed. From his perch on the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, freshman U.S. Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., said he welcomed the major powers agreement with Iran over its nuclear program but did urge some caution.
"I welcome the opportunity for diplomacy, it is always preferable to sending our sons and daughters into harm's way, Yoho said on Monday. Let it never be forgotten that military action has its costs, certainly on the American taxpayer, but most importantly on the lives and families of the brave men and women we send into the battlefield. For that reason, I am hopeful for peace; however, President Rouhani's past actions and statements require a skeptical eye. Iran remains the world's leading state sponsor of terror. In this deal, the devil is truly in the details. The verify part needs to come before the trust."
Florida commands the top two spots on the U.S. House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee and chairwoman U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., and ranking minority member U.S. Rep.Ted Deutch, D-Fla., offered cautious words about the nuclear deal with Iran announced over the weekend.
Im disappointed that the agreement reached with Iran leaves unfulfilled our ultimate objective: a complete dismantling of Irans nuclear program and related activities, Ros-Lehtinen said on Sunday. In offering to ease sanctions in return for a six-month halt in the nuclear program, the agreement accepted by the administration simply does not go far enough to ensure our national security interests and those of our allies, like the democratic Jewish state of Israel. Im particularly troubled by this agreements failure to force Tehran to completely stop uranium enrichment and dismantle its existing centrifuges, whose operation can be resumed quickly, allowing Iran to potentially reach nuclear capacity in a brief amount of time.
We simply cannot trust the very man who has bragged about advancing Irans nuclear program while deceiving the West in his former position of chief negotiator, added Ros-Lehtinen. In light of President Obamas claim that we have halted Irans nuclear program, wed do well to remember that the one really calling the shots in Iran is Supreme Leader Khamenei, and he has repeatedly made clear his intent for Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. This deal falls short of our primary national security objectives, and it puts into unnecessary danger the security of our friends and allies.
Deutch sounded more optimistic but still urged caution in dealing with Iran.
"This partial deal is only the beginning, but we must be clear that the end result of this process is Iran verifiably and completely ending its nuclear weapons program and dangerous enrichment activities, Deutch said. Before any final deal can be reached, Iran must come clean about its entire nuclear program once and for all. This means addressing all outstanding claims by the IAEA of possible military aspects, dismantling the Arak reactor, halting centrifuge manufacturing, and granting inspectors full access to Parchin and all other sites. Iran must understand that all options remain until its nuclear program is nolonger a threat to U.S. and international security."
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com.
