Senator Elizabeth Warren stated to the Boston Globe last night that she plans to support the Iran nuclear deal, which will force Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the U.S. lifting economic sanctions.
“The question now before Congress — the only question before Congress — is whether the recently announced nuclear agreement represents our best available option for preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon,” Warren said in a statement to the Boston Globe. “I am convinced that it does.”
Critics of the Iran nuclear deal claim the inspection process is weak and will allow Iran to hide nuclear material to build a bomb. They also claim that lifting the arms embargoe in five years will allow Iran to build larger conventional weapons. In her statement to the Boston Globe, Warren said she believes the inspection regime is stringent enough to prevent Iran from pursuing a nuclear weapon.
“It allows us continuous access to key facilities and imposes stringent verification measures to ensure that Iran’s entire fuel cycle is peaceful,” she said. If Iran cheats, “we will be able to respond with the strength and support of the world behind us.”
“I do not trust the Iranian regime, which continues to terrorize its neighbors and to undermine international peace and stability, and this deal does not end our significant disputes with Iran,” she said.
“We must continue to work with the international community to counter Iran’s dangerous behavior. But it is far easier to counter the ambitions of an Iran that has no nuclear weapon than it is to counter an Iran that can threaten the world with a nuclear bomb.”
“This nuclear agreement takes no options off the table,” she said. “If it ultimately fails, future actions to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran will only be enhanced by the knowledge we gain from closely monitoring the Iranian nuclear program throughout the length of the deal. If it ultimately succeeds, we will have neutralized a grave threat without resorting to war.”
“Those who oppose this deal have not disputed these facts and have presented no realistic alternatives,” she added. “Because I believe that this deal is our best available option, I support it.”
For much more on this story, click Elizabeth Warren says she’ll back Iran nuclear deal from the Boston Globe.
