Mike Huckabee Stands By Iran Nuclear Deal-Holocaust Comments, Obama Responds

Republican presidential hopeful and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee insisted Sunday that he was standing by comments he made that compared the United States' new nuclear deal with Iran to the Holocaust. In an interview with Breitbart News, Huckabee, 59, said that in trusting the Iranian government, U.S. President Barack Obama "will take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven," referring to the Nazi's use of gas chambers during World War II to exterminate millions of European Jews.

The landmark agreement would require Iran to accept long-term limits on its nuclear program and allow inspections of its nuclear facilities. In return, economic sanctions on the country would be lifted by the U.S., EU and U.N. Huckabee also commented during the Saturday interview that Obama's foreign policy was the most "feckless in American history."

Obama denounced Huckabee's comments Monday morning, calling his arguments "ridiculous" at a news conference in Ethiopia, reported NBC. The comments are "part of a general pattern that would be considered ridiculous if it weren't so sad," Obama said, adding, "Presidential debates deserve better."

The Anti-Defamation League, which monitors anti-Semitism, also condemned Huckabee's comments, reported POLITICO.

“Whatever one’s views of the nuclear agreement with Iran – and we have been critical of it, noting that there are serious unanswered questions that need to be addressed – comments such as those by Mike Huckabee suggesting the president is leading Israel to another Holocaust are completely out of line and unacceptable,” ADL’s National Director Jonathan Greenblatt said in a statement. “To hear Mr. Huckabee invoke the Holocaust when America is Israel’s greatest ally and when Israel is a strong nation capable of defending itself is disheartening.”

Huckabee fired back on Twitter, writing, “Tell Congress to do their constitutional duty & reject the Obama-Kerry #IranDeal,” in a post Sunday that included a graphic of his controversial remarks.

This is not the first time that Huckabee has criticized the agreement. The former governor previously called the deal the equivalent of giving 10 gallons of gasoline and matches to a pyromaniac. He also posted a Vine video of characters in “The Lion King” being killed by an atomic explosion that was uploaded with the comments, “'No worries' is not a strategy for Iran. Tell Congress to kill the nuclear deal!”