San Diego-area U.S. Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA) announced her support for the Iran deal Wednesday in an op-ed published by the San Diego Union-Tribune that will run in Thursday’s print edition.
Davis’ announcement comes despite significant opposition and concern from both sides of the aisle over the terms of the nuclear agreement, and the process through which it has already been partially implemented.
In early July, Davis, Rep. Juan Vargas (D-CA) and Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) penned a joint op-ed for the Union-Tribune outlining the terms for an acceptable Iran deal.
In July, Vargas published a separate op-ed in which he declared: “I intend to stand up and vote against this deal. This is not a partisan issue. This is an issue of our national security, and the security of our allies and I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing this deal.”
In her new op-ed, Davis disagreed. She recounted the 2002 vote on whether to authorize the use of force in Iraq. She likened this deal to that decision, and concluded:
I am convinced that after an extensive number of discussions and reviewing materials, the Iran nuclear agreement creates a viable path to reducing Iran’s nuclear weapons capability now and for the future….
The intrusive inspections provisions of the deal allow for continuous monitoring of facilities where nuclear activities take place. If inspectors suspect nuclear activity at other sites, they can request access. If Iran declines, the international community will determine whether inspectors get access and any attempt by Iran to delay or deny access to these sites would result in swift renewal of international sanctions.
Davis’s conclusions differ sharply from those of Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), who announced his opposition to the deal last month. He noted that the Iran deal is temporary at best, does not create a robust inspections regime, and provides Iran with hundreds of billions of dollars in sanctions relief with which to continue terror activities. He also argued that a better agreement is possible with a return to sanctions and diplomacy.
In her op-ed, Davis did not address new revelations about a confidential side deal between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency, under which Iran would be permitted to collect its own environmental samples at the Parchin military site, long suspected of being a nuclear weapons development facility.
Peters has yet to make a decision about the deal.
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