Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has consistently opposed the Iranian nuclear deal that President Barack Obama has championed, told diplomatic correspondents that an American public increasingly aware of the deal’s dangers is growing more hostile to the agreement.
Netanyahu bluntly said, “This deal, the more you learn about it, the opposition to it increases. As people know more about it, they become more opposed to it. … This is also true about the American public. The debate in the U.S. is important, and you can see the shift.”
Netanyahu’s claim was buttressed by a new poll released Wednesday by Secure America Now. The poll showed that 45 percent of registered voters wants Congress to reject the July 14 deal, an eight-point upswing since June. A CNN poll released Tuesday showed 52 percent of voters opposed the deal, and 44 percent of voters support it.
Netanyahu made clear that the Iranian threat to Israel was only part of his concern, pointing out, “This is no longer an Israeli issue. There are people who aren’t even Jews and aren’t even Israel supporters who see that this is a problem of the region, of the world and of the U.S.” He added that the Sunni population in the Middle East also vehemently oppose the deal, stating, “Messages from most of the Sunni regimes in the area are reaching me through all the possible channels who not only oppose the deal, but some of them are even horrified by it.”
Next month, Netanyahu will meet with over 40 members of Congress in Israel regarding the agreement. Congress has 60 days from the July 14 agreement to review the deal and pass a resolution either for or against it. If Congress rejects it, Obama will veto their resolution, forcing two-thirds of both houses of Congress to vote to override the veto.
Netanyahu told Forbes weeks ago:
Within a few years they (Iran) will be able to reach the Eastern seaboard of the United States. And then every point in the United States. But this deal will also enable Iran to tip those missiles with nuclear weapons, with atomic bombs. And I think it’s a huge mistake to allow the foremost sponsor of terrorism in the world, Iran, to have nuclear weapons, as well as the capacity to give such weapons to its terrorist surrogates. … The mullahs, the dictators in Tehran, they call us the little Satan; they call America the big Satan. You are their ultimate target, and you should not give such a terrorist regime the weapons of mass destruction.
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