A Democratic member on the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee came out against the Iran nuclear deal on Wednesday, as the White House seeks to gather Democratic support.
Rep. Grace Meng (N.Y.) said the “deal before us now is simply too dangerous.”
“I strongly believe the world could and should have a better deal than that set forth in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which I will therefore oppose,” said Meng, who is a member of the Foreign Affairs subcommittee on the Middle East.
Meng added that she would continue to study the finer points of the deal, but said, “They will not be dispositive for me.”
Her remarks come a day after she questioned Secretary of State John Kerry and other top administration officials during a panel hearing on Tuesday.
Meng called the inspections procedures “flawed,” and said leading nuclear experts have asserted that inspectors would “not necessarily know” if Iran was manufacturing uranium components for a nuclear weapon.
“This is unacceptable,” she said.
“Furthermore, I am deeply concerned that almost all of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure would remain intact; this leads me to believe Iran would simply resume its pursuit of a nuclear weapon at the conclusion of the deal in a decade’s time,” she added.
“Finally, the immediate sanctions relief provided Iran in the deal would incentivize the funding of terrorism and lessen Iran’s interest in restraining its nuclear ambitions over the long term,” she said.
She commended President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for their efforts to prevent the regime in Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon. “I have every confidence a better deal can be realized,” she said.
The U.S. Congress is expected to vote on the deal this autumn, and a resolution of disapproval would prevent President Obama from lifting U.S. sanctions on the regime in Iran, killing the agreement. The White House could veto that resolution, but would then need at least a third of Congress to help sustain that veto.
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