Politico’s Morning Energy: WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING – HISTORIC NUCLEAR DEAL REACHED WITH IRAN
Just after 3 a.m. The New York Times: “Iran and a group of six nations led by the United States have agreed to a historic accord to significantly limit Tehran’s nuclear ability for more than a decade in return for lifting international oil and financial sanctions against Iran, a senior Western diplomat involved in the negotiations said on Tuesday.”
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT):
“I remain unconvinced that this agreement will prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon. This agreement paves the way for Iran to further direct its resources in leading the way as the world’s greatest state-sponsor of terrorism.”
Congressman Ryan Zinke (R-MT):
“Iran is not our equal.” Strong words from #NavySEAL vet @RepRyanZinke on #IranDeal https://t.co/npCTl78O0l #mtpol
— Heather Swift (@hswift) July 14, 2015
From National Review’s Jim Geraghty:
Representative Ron DeSantis (R., Fla.), Chairman of the Subcommittee on National Security and a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs:
This Iran deal gives Ayatollah Khamenei exactly what he wants: billions of dollars in sanctions relief, validation of the Iranian nuclear program, and the ability to stymie inspections. It even lifts sanctions against Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani, who is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American soldiers during the campaign in Iraq. The deal will further destabilize the Middle East, allow Iran to foment more terrorism, and aid Iran’s rise as the dominant power in the region. By paving Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon, the deal harms American national security and effectively stabs our close ally Israel, which Iran has threatened to wipe off the map, in the back. Congress needs to move swiftly to block this dangerous deal.
Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH), per The Hill:
President Obama’s deal with Iran will “fuel a nuclear arms race around the world,” Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Tuesday in a scathing rebuke of the agreement.
Boehner warned that the deal would hand Iran billions of dollars worth of sanctions relief while giving it space to develop a nuclear bomb.
The Weekly Standard- Bill Kristol: A Very Good Deal—for Iran
We have a deal. It’s a deal worse than even we imagined possible. It’s a deal that gives the Iranian regime $140b in return for … effectively nothing: no dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear program, no anytime/anywhere inspections, no curbs on Iran’s ballistic missile program, no maintenance of the arms embargo, no halt to Iran’s sponsorship of terror.
Obama, BidenIt’s obviously a very good deal for the Iranian regime. It’s a very bad deal for America.
The Washington Post: Israel blasts Iran deal as ‘dark day in history’ (h/t The Drudge Report)
Israeli leaders across the political spectrum condemned in stark apocalyptic language the Iranian nuclear pact announced by the United States and world powers Tuesday, calling it a historic mistake that frees Iran to sponsor global terror while assembling the information and materials to build a nuclear weapon.
“Iran is going to receive a sure path to nuclear weapons,” said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday. “Many of the restrictions that were supposed to prevent it from getting there will be lifted.”
Netanyahu’s hardline coalition partner, education minister Naftali Bennett said, “Today a terrorist nuclear superpower is born, and it will go down as one of the darkest days in world history.”
Fox News First e-mail alert on Tuesday morning:
Whatever the deal announced today with Iran is – a historic achievement, an over-hyped nothingball, a capitulation to Islamists, the start of an arms race in Armageddon’s designated zip code – it is a headache for Clinton.
Public opinion polls on an Iran deal are a seeming paradox. Voters want a deal with Iran, says the administration. That’s true. But voters are also pretty sure that this one won’t work. Citing public support for a deal in general as support for this deal in specific would be like saying that almost everyone likes pizza to argue for support for your order of a large with anchovies and onions.