San Diego-area U.S. Representative Scott Peters (D-CA) is still undecided on the Iran deal, a Peters staffer told Breitbart News.
Peters’ fellow Democrat, Rep. Juan Vargas (D-CA), also from the San Diego delegation, came out strongly against deal and urged his colleagues to do the same. Vargas warned that relieving sanctions on Iran would strengthen “the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.”
California Democrat Rep. Brad Sherman also came out against the deal, warning that it allows “terrorism with impunity.”
However, Congressman Peters’ is sticking to the following statement on the Iran deal that his office provided to Breitbart News:
I supported a requirement that Congress have 60 legislative days to review any proposed agreement and I intend to take full advantage of that opportunity. I commend President Obama and his team for their steadfast efforts to find a diplomatic path forward. No deal will be perfect and, as I have said in the past, a bad deal is worse than no deal. As I examine the accord I will seek to determine if it reduces Iran’s nuclear enrichment capabilities, prevents Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, provides clear mechanisms to inspect Iranian facilities, provides for meaningful penalties in the event of a breach, and improves the security situation for the United States and our allies in the region.
Peters, along with fellow Democrats Vargas and Rep. Susan Davis emphasized the “no deal is better than a bad deal” mantra as they outlined their basic criteria for a deal in a joint July 3 op-ed for the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The first requirement the three legislators listed included “an inspections regime that allows the International Atomic Energy Agency access to any suspected site. The agreement cannot be based solely on trust.”
In his own op-ed, Vargas warned, “Iran has never fully addressed the concerns of international inspectors, and the regime has given us no reason to believe that will change.”
Vargas also listed other ways in which the deal fell short of expectations, arguing that the deal “gives Iran a rapid payday while legitimizing its path to nuclear-threshold status.”
Peters, Vargas and Davis had argued that continued economic sanctions would be better than accepting a bad deal, and urged caution in relieving those sanctions.
However, Peters remains on the fence, and Davis’ office has yet to return request for a statement on the deal.
Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana
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