White House reiterates its will to walk away from bad Iran deal as Corker calls for ‘courage’
A key senator has written to US President Barack Obama outlining his concerns with an emerging nuclear agreement with Iran, urging him to muster the “courage” necessary to walk away should Tehran’s final proposal not meet his own set standards.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker (R-Tennessee), who brokered a compromise Iran bill between Democrats and Republicans last month that won the president’s signature, penned the letter on Monday, just 15 days ahead of a key deadline for world powers to clinch the deal.
Corker’s letter referenced specific demands made by the Obama administration in recent weeks: That international inspectors be granted access across Iran “anytime” and “anywhere” that they reasonably suspect nuclear-related activities, and a satisfactory conclusion to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s investigation into the past military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear work.
“If Iran tries to cross these few remaining red lines, I would urge you to please pause and consider rethinking the entire approach,” Corker writes, charging that “no sites” should be off limits to inspectors.