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GOP rep: Iran deal ‘falls way short’

by Rebecca Shabad - 08/29/15 6:00 AM ET

The Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee says the nuclear deal with Iran “falls way short” in keeping the Middle East nation honest.

Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.) said the agreement reached between the United States, other world powers and Iran does not protect U.S. interests.

“If this agreement goes through, Iran gets a cash bonanza, it gets a boost to its international standing, and a path toward nuclear weapons,” he said in the GOP’s weekly address. “I have come to my conclusions. This deal is deeply flawed. It makes the world less safe.”

{mosads}The Obama administration, he argued, settled for a deal that “gives Iran too much, too fast.”

Under the agreement, Royce said, the U.S. and other foreign governments will have to alleviate their financial pressure on Iran by gradually lifting sanctions.

He warned that after the deal expires in 10 to 15 years, Iran could then expand its nuclear program and potentially be “steps from a nuclear weapon.”

He added that he’s concerned this could push Iran’s neighbors to also develop nuclear weapons programs.

According to the White House, the agreement imposes limits on Iran’s nuclear program to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. As long as Iran complies with the deal’s requirements, sanctions will gradually be lifted on the country’s financial and oil sectors.

Iran will be forced to reduce its uranium stockpile by 98 percent and keep enrichment at a maximum of 3.67 percent. When that the deal was announced last month, Secretary of State John Kerry said that level would be “well below anything that could be possibly used as a weapon.”

The White House asserts that the deal stops Iran from pursuing various avenues to obtain a nuclear weapon by limiting centrifuges and highly enriched uranium, adding international monitoring of its program and requiring Iran to rebuild its heavy-water reactor at Arak.

When Congress returns to Capitol Hill from its August recess after Labor Day, both the House and Senate are both expected to vote on resolutions disapproving the Iran deal.

While it’s expected Congress will vote to disapprove the deal, President Obama can veto their disapproval, and Republicans are unlikely to have the votes to override that veto.

Tags Ed Royce Iran