Hoyer calls Iran deal a ‘marginal improvement’

The No. 2 Democrat in the House called the Iran nuclear agreement a “marginal improvement,” noting that it would continue major sanctions.

Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), echoing comments from Secretary of State John Kerry, also stressed that the United States had not taken a military option off the table and needed to wait and see how the next six months unfolds.

“We don’t trust Iran,” Hoyer said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

{mosads}“We need to verify that they are in fact are going to do what they say they’re going to do.”

Hoyer also endorsed the idea of Congress passing a tough sanctions bill that wouldn’t go into place for six months, something that Republicans have also floated.

Hoyer said that approach would tell Iran that “we need a final deal – and if not a final deal, these tougher sanctions are going to go into place. Or: If you do not follow this interim agreement, those sanctions will go into place.”