U.S. Rep. Steve Russell said Congress should scuttle the Iran nuclear accord. He spoke after an appearance before the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
Three weeks ago, U.S. Rep. Steve Russell said Congress should spend 60 days deciding whether to support an international accord to curb Iran’s nuclear program.
Tuesday, he said he has made up his mind.
“We have to scuttle it,” Russell, R-Choctaw, said after an appearance before the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.
“It’s terrible for our national security. It’s terrible for international security. I am doing everything I can to prevent a nuclear-ascendant, nuclear-capable Iran.”
President Barack Obama has promised a veto if Congress votes to disapprove of the deal. A veto override would require a two-thirds vote of each chamber.
Russell said a better alternative is “a better deal.”
He said that if Iran is ultimately destined to have a nuclear weapon at some point anyway, he would rather Iran not be given the legitimacy that the proposed pact would provide.
“Which Iran would we rather deal with, a rogue state that is a pariah that the whole world is against, like North Korea, that violated the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, or do we deal with a legal Iran that is still involved in terrorist activities and human rights (violations) that we now have to treat like Brazil or France,” Russell said.
“I’ll tell you which Iran I’d rather deal with. I’d rather deal with the one that will continue to hate us, but that will be a rogue, pariah state.”
“People say we won’t have partners (in trying to get a better deal),” Russell said. “That’s a notion I reject. Secretary (of State John) Kerry is naive in that regard.”

Newsok, 5 August 2015