U.S. President Barack Obama is shown departing at the end of his remarks on the nuclear deal with Iran at American University in Washington, D.C., Aug. 5, 2015.Reuters
President Barack Obama vigorously defended Wednesday the proposed nuclear deal with Iran in remarks delivered at American University in Washington D.C. During his speech, Obama called the agreement, "the most consequential foreign policy debate that our country has had since the invasion of Iraq."
A good portion of Obama's speech was spent relating the Iran deal with the decision to invade Iraq. "More than a decade later we still live with the consequences of the decision to invade Iraq," Obama said. "I raise this recent history because now more than ever we need clear thinking in our foreign policy."
The deal, following two years of talks, was agreed upon in July. The proposed agreement would ease economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for the country not developing nuclear weapons and allowing for inspections. In the lengthy speech, Obama addressed critics of the deal who have said they feel Iran cannot be trusted and an influx of money would advance the country's nuclear program. Obama also pushed that it was an agreement intended to promote peace and had gained support in the international community.
"How can we in good conscience justify war before we have tested a diplomatic agreement that achieves our objectives?" Obama said.
"By killing this deal, Congress wouldn't merely pave Iran’s pathway to a bomb, it would accelerate it" —@POTUShttp://t.co/sQQaSr6Otx
Congress will vote on the deal following a 60-day review. Facing opposition from Republicans in Congress, Obama will likely have to use veto power for the deal to be approved, meaning he will have to muster one-third support in both chambers.
Read the full text of Obama's remarks here, via the Washington Post.
