Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) will vote for the nuclear Iran deal.
In a late Thursday op-ed for the San Diego Union-Tribune, Peters wrote, “the JCPOA is our best tool to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon for at least the next 15 years. I will vote to support the agreement.”
The announcement comes after many weeks of indecision, pressure from outside groups, calls from 2016 Republican challenger Jacquie Atkinson to oppose the deal, prominent Democrat Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) announcing opposition and Peters’ fellow San Diego delegation Rep. Juan Vargas (D-CA) stating strong opposition to the deal and calling on his colleagues to vote against the deal.
Peters wrote, “The government of Iran today is a chief sponsor of international terrorism and regularly threatens to obliterate Israel, our most important ally in the region. By 2013, Iran was only a month away from having enough fissile material for a nuclear bomb. That is unacceptable.”
Peters goes on to note that, “This agreement is based on mistrust, not on trust” and that “It doesn’t end Iran’s support of terrorism or permanently end Iran’s civilian nuclear energy program.” He additionally recognizes that the international weapons and ballistic missile bans are short-lived.
Jacquie Atkinson, 2016 challenger for Peters’ Congressional seat responded, “Mr. Peters, shame on you, the reality is this deal threatens the safety and security of our closest ally in the Middle East, Israel.” She continued, “You admit in one breath that Iran sponsors terrorism worldwide and threatens Israel and in the next breath say you want to lift sanctions and give Iran more tools with which to destroy us and our allies.”
In his statement, Peters attempts to reinforce the idea that the only options are accept the deal or go to war. This is in step with assertions made by President Barack Obama, but in contrast to the opinion of influential Democrat Senator Charles Schumer (NY).
Schumer came out in opposition to the deal earlier this month. He at the same time suggested a third option to deal or war, “Better to keep U.S. sanctions in place, strengthen them, enforce secondary sanctions on other nations, and pursue the hard-trodden path of diplomacy once more, difficult as it may be.”
Breitbart News editor Joel Pollak wrote Friday of the Nuclear Review Agreement Act,
It is still not too late. [Sen. Mitch] McConnell could submit the Iran deal–the text of the deal itself, not a resolution of disapproval–to the Senate for an up-or-down vote. It will either fail to win two-thirds support, or Democrats will have to filibuster it.
Rep. Vargas suggested in his opposition to the deal that, “This deal will spark an arms race in the Middle East.
Despite acknowledging several issues with Iran’s support for terrorism, lack of trust for Iran and the troublesome short-term of sanctions, Peters has chosen to vote in support of the Iran deal.
Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana
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