President Barack Obamas deal with Iran over that countrys nuclear program is drawing fire from Republicans in the Florida congressional delegation, and even some Democrats representing the Sunshine State are not happy with it.
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., who sits on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, came out swinging against Obamas deal with Iran. Rubio labeled the deal as a diplomatic failure and slammed the administrations farcical approach to Iran and in the Middle East.
I look forward to hearing from administration officials what specific terms Iran has agreed to as part of what was supposed to be a comprehensive framework agreement, but the initial details appear to be very troubling, Rubio said on Thursday."Through more than a decade of efforts to resolve international concerns about Irans nuclear program, this regime has consistently lied about its ambitions and hidden the true nature of its efforts from the world. Among other issues, allowing Iran to retain thousands of centrifuges, keeping facilities such as Fordow open and not limiting Irans ballistic missile program indicate to me that this deal is a colossal mistake.
This attempt to spin diplomatic failure as a success is just the latest example of this administrations farcical approach to Iran, Rubio added. Under this presidents watch, Iran has expanded its influence in the Middle East, sowing instability throughout the region. Irans support for terrorism has continued unabated without a serious response from the United States. The regimes repression of the Iranian people and its detentions of American citizens continue. And now Tehran is gaining international acceptance of its nuclear ambitions and will receive significant sanctions relief without making serious concessions.
I intend to work with my colleagues to continue to ensure that any final agreement, if reached, is reviewed by Congress and that additional sanctions continue to be imposed on Iran until it completely gives up its nuclear ambitions and the regime changes its destructive behavior, Rubio added. Our message to Iran should be clear: until the regime chooses a different path, the United States will continue to isolate Iran and impose pressure. Todays announcement takes us in the opposite direction, and I fear it will have devastating consequences for nuclear nonproliferation, the security of our allies and partners, and for U.S. interests in the region.
Obamas deal also drew the fire of Florida Republicans in the U.S. House, including that of U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., the chairwoman of the U.S House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee.
Front loading the deal with a lifting of sanctions in return for Iran complying with the low bar already set will do nothing but grant the regime access to billions of dollars that it will surely use to continue to support terror, destabilize the Middle East, undermine U.S. interests and endanger our allies, and seek covert and overt ways to achieve a nuclear weapon, Ros-Lehtinen insisted on Thursday.
There still remain more questions than answers, and it is nae for the president and the P5+1 to think that Iran will fully comply with the IAEA after decades of diversions, stall tactics, obfuscation and obstruction, or that we will be able to reimpose U.N. Security Council sanctions if they are lifted, Ros-Lehtinen added. Anything short of preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon will not be an acceptable outcome, and ultimately the president cannot unilaterally lift sanctions against Iran put in place by Congress without our approval.
U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Fla., part of the House leadership as senior deputy majority whip, also expressed reservations about the deal.
I am deeply concerned that the framework nuclear deal negotiated by President Obama with Iran does not go far enough to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Ross said on Thursday. I urge the president to submit his final deal to Congress where it will require ratification from the Senate. Only then will the American people have an opportunity to say whether they approve or not.
Obama is getting some support from Florida Democrats. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., told the Tampa Bay Times he was cautiously optimistic and said he would back more sanctions if Iran broke the deal.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), agreed with Nelson about being cautiously optimistic about the deal with Iran.
I commend the American and international negotiators for their tireless pursuit of preventing Iran from ever developing a nuclear weapon, Wasserman Schultz said on Friday. While I am still reviewing the framework closely and remain in touch with White House advisers to continue asking key questions, I remain cautiously optimistic about our chances to reach a final deal in a few months.
Like Nelson, Wasserman Schultz said she was open to imposing more sanctions on Iran if they broke the deal.
It is up to Iran to meticulously comply with the terms of any final deal and prove to the international community it is serious about its commitments, Wasserman Schultz said. This will rightly be verified through required, 24/7/365 access to and inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities. Any deviation from that mandate would understandably compel Congress to impose more of the sanctions that have crippled their economy and brought them to the negotiating table; sanctions which I have consistently voted for and would not hesitate to do so again should Iran return to the path of nuclear weaponization rather than a program with peaceful intent.
Iran remains a state-sponsor of terror, and it is with Irans nefarious network in mind that I continue to stand with the administration and my colleagues to strengthen our national security by preventing their leaders from ever developing a nuclear weapon, Wasserman Schultz added. The stakes are too high and weve come too far to move away from that goal.
But not all Democrats in the Florida delegation were on the same page as Obama with two representatives with foreign-policy portfolios expressing skepticism and concern over the deal.
U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., who sits on the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, reacted to Thursdays deal with caution.
Iran is the largest state sponsor of terror and its nuclear program is a threat to America, to our allies in the Middle East, and to global order," Frankel said on Thursday. We cannot allow proliferation of the worlds most dangerous weapon in the worlds most dangerous region. Our job in Congress is to hold the administration to its promise that no deal is better than a bad deal as the details of this initial framework are hammered out.
U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, said he had great skepticism about the deal due to Irans deceptive history and ongoing destabilizing and dangerous activities. Deutch also insisted Congress would have a major role to play in the final results.
I remain deeply concerned as to how a number of issues have been addressed in the framework and may be addressed in a final agreement, Deutch said on Thursday. These include Fordow being allowed to remain open and operating, continued enrichment at Arak, the disposition of Irans enriched uranium stockpile, whether a verification regime allows anytime, anywhere inspections of all known or suspect sites, the full resolution of the military dimensions of Irans program, and the timing of and requirements for any sanctions relief. I look forward to a full and frank discussion with the administration on these issues and the questions the framework leaves open, specifically including the necessary role Congress must play going forward.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
