In a speech this morning at the Brookings Institution, Hillary Clinton laid out a clear-eyed vision on how best to guarantee that Iran never obtains a nuclear weapon. Clinton’s plan not only includes support for the nuclear deal currently pending before Congress, but also a series of “distrust and verify” measures to keep up global pressure on Iran. “I don’t see Iran as our partner in implementing the agreement,” Clinton said today. “I believe that Iran is the subject of the agreement.” Confronting Iran is nothing new for Clinton—as Secretary of State she built the coalition that enacted the toughest global sanctions in history, which forced Iran back to the negotiating table.
On the other side of the aisle, the Republican candidates are letting Dick Cheney call the shots, and many are irresponsibly arguing that they will walk away from an agreement embraced by most of America’s leading international allies. As Clinton said in her remarks today, “several Republicans boast that they’ll tear up this agreement […] that’s not leadership, that’s recklessness.”
Scott Walker
Scott Walker said he would “terminate” the Iran nuclear deal “on day one.”
Scott Walker said that the United States should treat the inspection of Iran’s nuclear facilities the way parents treat inspections of teenage boys’ bedrooms.
Ted Cruz
Ted Cruz compared the Iran nuclear deal to the appeasement of Hitler.
Ted Cruz was one of 47 GOP senators that signed an open letter to Iranian leadership attacking a potential nuclear deal with Iran.
Donald Trump
Donald Trump said the Iran nuclear deal was a “disastrous deal in so many ways” and that he would renegotiate it.
- Donald Trump: “I will make that agreement so tough, and if they break it, they will have hell to pay.”
Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush opposed the Iran nuclear deal but “stopped well short of promising he’d undo the deal.”
Jeb Bush said he would never have negotiated with Iran in the first place.
Marco Rubio
Marco Rubio claimed that “nothing” in th Iran nuclear agreement was “binding on the next administration.”
Marco Rubio was one of 47 GOP senators that signed an open letter to Iranian leadership attacking a potential nuclear deal with Iran.
Ben Carson
Ben Carson suggested that the Iran nuclear deal was “anti-Semitic.”
Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee said the Iran nuclear deal would “take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven.”
- Huckabee was criticized by Israeli officials for his comments comparing the Iran deal to the Holocaust.
Chris Christie
Chris Christie opposed the Iran nuclear deal.
Chris Christie provided “scant details on what he believes would be a good deal.”
Chris Christie on his ideal Iran deal: “I don’t know what the deal would look like.” [APPS National Security Summit, 7/29/15]
Carly Fiorina
Carly Fiorina opposed the Iran nuclear deal and said she would renegotiate it.
Lindsey Graham
Lindsey Graham said he would break the Iran nuclear deal on his first day in office.
Lindsey Graham claimed negotiating with Iran would put us “on the road to Armageddon.”
Lindsey Graham was one of 47 GOP senators that signed an open letter to Iranian leadership attacking a potential nuclear deal with Iran.
Bobby Jindal
Bobby Jindal opposed the Iran nuclear deal and criticized Congressional Republicans for being outplayed in allowing it to pass.
Bobby Jindal was the first non-Congressional official to sign the GOP’s open letter to Iranian leadership attacking a potential nuclear deal with Iran.
John Kasich
John Kasich opposed the Iran nuclear deal but said he would not invalidate it.
Rand Paul
Rand Paul vowed to vote against the Iran nuclear deal.
Rand Paul was one of 47 GOP senators that signed an open letter to Iranian leadership attacking a potential nuclear deal with Iran.
RAND PAUL: IRAN Flip-floppeR
2007: Rand Paul on Iran: “It’s ridiculous to think they’re a threat to our national security….It’s not even that viable to say they’re a national threat to Israel.”
2008: Rand Paul on Iran: “I find it hard to believe that a country that can’t refine their gas is somehow a threat to our national security.”
2015: Rand Paul claimed he “never really indicated that [the Iranians] were of no threat.” [Fox News’ The Kelly File, 5/13/15]
Rick Perry
Rick Perry pledged to invalidate the U.S.’ multilateral deal with Iran to limit Iranian nuclear capacity as one of his first acts as president.
Rick Perry was the second governor to back the Senate GOP’s open letter to Iranian leadership attacking a potential nuclear deal with Iran.
Rick Santorum
Rick Santorum called the Iran nuclear deal “a catastrophic capitulation.”