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| Bernie Sanders pushes back on Obama's comments on Iran deal opponents | Bernie Sanders pushes back on Obama's comments on Iran deal opponents |
| (about 17 hours later) | |
| The Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders on Sunday distanced himself from rhetoric used by Barack Obama to defend his controversial nuclear deal with Iran. | |
| Related: Obama accuses Iran deal opponents of luring Congress toward Middle East war | Related: Obama accuses Iran deal opponents of luring Congress toward Middle East war |
| In an interview with CBS, Sanders pushed back on a statement Obama made in a speech at American University this week, that congressional opponents of the Iran deal were making common cause with Iranian hardliners including the Revolutionary Guard, an organization officially labeled as a terrorist group by the US government. | In an interview with CBS, Sanders pushed back on a statement Obama made in a speech at American University this week, that congressional opponents of the Iran deal were making common cause with Iranian hardliners including the Revolutionary Guard, an organization officially labeled as a terrorist group by the US government. |
| “I wouldn’t frame it that way,” said the independent Vermont senator. | “I wouldn’t frame it that way,” said the independent Vermont senator. |
| In an interview broadcast by CNN on Sunday, Obama continued to frame the issue that way. | In an interview broadcast by CNN on Sunday, Obama continued to frame the issue that way. |
| The president said: “The reason that [Senate majority leader] Mitch McConnell and the rest of the folks in his caucus who oppose this jumped out and opposed it before they even read it, before it was even posted, is reflective of a ideological commitment not to get a deal done.” | The president said: “The reason that [Senate majority leader] Mitch McConnell and the rest of the folks in his caucus who oppose this jumped out and opposed it before they even read it, before it was even posted, is reflective of a ideological commitment not to get a deal done.” |
| Sanders also said while it was “easy to be critical of an agreement which is not perfect”, he saw the deal as the best alternative to the conflict he said was wanted by Republican critics of the deal who did not “remember the consequences of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan”. | Sanders also said while it was “easy to be critical of an agreement which is not perfect”, he saw the deal as the best alternative to the conflict he said was wanted by Republican critics of the deal who did not “remember the consequences of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan”. |
| “The US has to negotiate with other countries, with Iran,” Sanders said. “The only alternative is war.” | “The US has to negotiate with other countries, with Iran,” Sanders said. “The only alternative is war.” |
| Sanders is the leading challenger to former secretary of state Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination to succeed Obama in 2016, having energized progressives with calls for increased income equality and condemnations of Wall Street. His campaign momentum was again on view on Saturday, when he spoke to a crowd of 12,000 people in Seattle. | |
| Related: Bernie Sanders sidelined in Seattle as Black Lives Matter activists invade stage | Related: Bernie Sanders sidelined in Seattle as Black Lives Matter activists invade stage |
| A fervent opponent of the Iraq war, Sanders has long been considered a supporter of a dovish foreign policy. | A fervent opponent of the Iraq war, Sanders has long been considered a supporter of a dovish foreign policy. |
| The Iran deal, which would lift a wide array of sanctions and unfreeze up to $150bn in exchange for a 96% reduction in Iran’s uranium stockpile and its number of active centrifuges, has become increasingly controversial in Washington. | The Iran deal, which would lift a wide array of sanctions and unfreeze up to $150bn in exchange for a 96% reduction in Iran’s uranium stockpile and its number of active centrifuges, has become increasingly controversial in Washington. |
| A number of influential Democrats, including senator Chuck Schumer and representative Eliot Engel, have come out against the deal, joining Republicans who are almost unanimously opposed. Such opponents fear that the agreement will do little to impede Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon while providing a major economic boost to a a state sponsor of terrorism. | A number of influential Democrats, including senator Chuck Schumer and representative Eliot Engel, have come out against the deal, joining Republicans who are almost unanimously opposed. Such opponents fear that the agreement will do little to impede Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon while providing a major economic boost to a a state sponsor of terrorism. |
| Once Congress returns to Washington in September, it is expected to move forward on a resolution of disapproval. However, observers consider it unlikely that enough Democrats will break with the White House to provide the two-thirds votes needed in both House and Senate to override a subsequent presidential veto. | Once Congress returns to Washington in September, it is expected to move forward on a resolution of disapproval. However, observers consider it unlikely that enough Democrats will break with the White House to provide the two-thirds votes needed in both House and Senate to override a subsequent presidential veto. |
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