“This is my concern, a world where Iran has a nuclear weapon is less safe, less secure and the concern is that this is going to be a bad agreement. We were supposed to actually dismantle Iran’s capacity for a nuclear weapon and now the president has gotten to a point where, no, it’s just about delaying. It’s not about stopping. It’s about managing.”
WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) appeared on “Fox News Sunday” this morning to talk about the nuclear negotiations with Iran and why Congress needs to weigh in on any deal before a final agreement is made.
Below are key excerpts of the interview:
On White House Letter Saying Deal Will Go Through UN First:
“The president has said only after they signed the deal will Congress get a chance to weigh in. And this letter last night from the White House was to both parties because this is bipartisan legislation. The letter last night said that the president wants to go first to the Security Council of the United Nations before going to the Congress of the United States. And you have to ask, why is that? Why is he saying both to Republicans and Democrats, sit down and be quiet. And I think it’s because it’s a bad deal that the president is so eager and desperate because of his legacy to get any deal that he’s going to sign a bad one.
On What a Bad Deal with Iran Means:
“Well, when Barack Obama was in the Senate and Joe Biden was in the Senate, they cosponsored legislation that said the Bush arrangements with Iraq had to come to Congress. This is my concern, a world where Iran has a nuclear weapon is less safe, less secure and the concern is that this is going to be a bad agreement. We were supposed to actually dismantle Iran’s capacity for a nuclear weapon and now the president has gotten to a point where, no, it’s just about delaying. It’s not about stopping. It’s about managing. So, those are the concerns that I see a bad agreement coming. I think that we are seeing Iran taking more and more power and across the whole Middle East they have this arc of dominance that is including not just Iran but Iraq as well as Syria, all the way to the Mediterranean.
On Senate Letter to Leaders of Iran:
“I think it’s very important with regard to Iran to make sure that no deal is better than a bad deal. And I’m very concerned about a bad deal. I think by sending that letter, we focused the attention where it should be on the debate about the deal. The president hasn’t wanted to talk about it for six years, Iran with a nuclear weapon. Now the focus is on what it means if Iran gets a nuclear weapon to use themselves, to give to terrorists who can use it against us. And this is all about Iran and sanctions. They want the money. Iran wants the money so they can then spend it in other ways for terrorism.
On the President Ignoring Congress:
“The American public is very concerned about this president. And the sad truth is he does a very bad job on foreign relations. He’s done it with the Syria and the red line. He’s done it with ISIS in terms of underestimating, calling them a JV team. Yemen he called a success story right until the Iranians took over Yemen. So, I think that the president needs input from Congress. He would benefit from input from Congress.”
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