Democratic presidential candidate and former Virginia Senator Jim Webb said that the Iran deal sends “a signal that we, the United States, are accepting the eventuality that they will acquire a nuclear weapon” and “we seem to be acceding” to Iran getting a nuclear weapons on Wednesday’s broadcast of “The Diane Rehm Show.”
Webb said, [relevant exchange begins around 0:45] that he has “a lot of concern” about the deal, and “this might actually increase the imbalance in the balance of power in the region.” He also stated that the deal “should have been a Congressional process from the beginning.” Webb further stated he would be “very skeptical” of the deal if he was in the Senate.
He continued, “over a period of ten years, they are going to be able to say that they can move forward with a nuclear weapon’s policy with the acceptance of the United States and these other countries.” And that he was “trying to figure out” what the US gets out of the deal based on the “vague guarantees” of examinations.
Webb also argued, “Here, we are in a situation where we’re dealing with a country that is not yet a nuclear power, and we seem to be acceding to that point. The United States should never accede to the point that Iran would acquire nuclear weapons.”
Webb later added, “My concern really is that at the bottom line of the agreement, here is what we have: We have Iran having their sanctions lifted, having a number of these other issues with respect to their activities not addressed, and having the rest of the region receiving a signal that we, the United States, are accepting the eventuality that they will acquire a nuclear weapon. So, however you get through the checks and the measures as this agreement moves forward, that’s what — looks like that’s where we end up after ten years.”
(h/t GOPICYMI)
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