Sen. Dan Coats, R-Indiana, says he is "profoundly skeptical" of the nuclear agreement announced Tuesday between Iran and a group of nations led by the U.S.
As NPR reports, the deal puts restrictions on Iran's nuclear program and allows for inspections to make sure Iran is keeping its end of the bargain.
In exchange, the U.S. and its European partners have agreed to drop tough sanctions on Iran, allowing them to sell more oil and rejoin international financial systems...
In a speech from the White House, President Obama said that quite simply this deal keeps Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
According to Obama, the deal cuts off "every pathway" Iran has to get to a nuclear weapon. It also: removes two-thirds of Iran's centrifuges; includes a commitment from Iran not use its advance centrifuges for a decade and limits Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium and weapons-grade plutonium for 15 years.
Congress is not required to approve the measure, but lawmakers could vote to stop the president from lifting sanctions from Iran. However, President Obama has promised to veto any measure that does so.
Sen. Coats, who serves on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, says he will carefully review the details of the deal before rendering a final opinion.
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He says the Iran agreement reminds him of a deal President Clinton made with North Korea, which ultimately resulted in that country obtaining nuclear weapons.
"I don't want to see that same thing happen to Iran and so the words of the president don't reassure me in saying, ‘Trust me, everything's going to be good. And by the way, I'm going to veto it if you don't agree.' That is not leadership," Coats says.
Former Congressman Lee Hamilton, D-Indiana, says while the deal might not be perfect, it's better than no deal at all.
"If you do not have a deal, you have no constraints – or at least very limited constraints – on Iran's pathway to a nuclear bomb," he says.
A vote in Congress on the agreement is expected in September.
Brandon Smith, Gretchen Frazee and Barbara Brosher contributed to this report.
