CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A group of West Virginians and U.S. veterans are urging U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) to reject the proposed Iran nuclear deal.
West Virginians Against the Deal and Veterans Against the Deal spoke out at a press conference held at Yeager Airport’s Veterans Wall Thursday, which aimed at getting the senator’s attention.
“From interviews that I have seen it sounds like he (Manchin) is leaning hard in favor of approving the deal, but from my understanding he hasn’t really made a final decision,” said veteran Jim Butler (R-Mason,14).
According to a news release, Manchin said, “Right now, I am hearing from experts on both sides of the debate as I consider the consequences and weigh the options on the Iran nuclear deal.”
The agreement is meant to reshape relations between Iran and the West by curbing Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the easing of economic sanctions. Iran will not be shutting down its atomic program, but the deal does allow for the lifting of the ban on the county’s imports and exports of missiles and conventional arms.
Before the conference, Butler said he strongly believes the deal will allow for more terrorism.
“One of the biggest dangers is we’re going to free up over $100 billion to Iran who is known to be the biggest sponsor of terrorism in the world,” he said. “These bombs are actually used against our soldiers.”
“Having these Middle East experts, who are soldiers, to speak with him (Manchin) I think would go a long way to let him know what the real dangers are over there,” he added.
Butler said the leaders of Iran want to eliminate “the little Satan”, which they say is Israel, and want to devastate “the big Satan,” which they claim is the United States.
“Clearly this is important to residents of West Virginia as well because obviously we’re in the United States,” he said.
Although many veterans opposed the deal, Rev. Jim Lewis told MetroNews he was in favor of it, saying the deal will “put Iran under the spotlight.”
“I fear that if we don’t approve this agreement, Iran is going to go ahead and get the nuclear weapons no matter what, so we best have our eye on them,” said Lewis.
Lewis spoke to the group about how the approval of the deal would not necessarily mean “we don’t like Israel or that we are anti-Semitic.”
“This is not a division between Jews and Christians. Jews are divided over this. Christians are divided over this,” he said.
The passing of the deal would not only allow the United States to keep a watchful eye on Iran, but could also create peace in other countries, he said.
“The may be, in an interesting way, a connection to bringing some peace in the region in Syria. This could be a way into bringing some more peace in those issues, even though that’s not a part of the agreement.”
There are still mixed reviews from West Virginia elected officials about how they will cast their vote. Manchin said, as for him, he’s urging all West Virginians to look over the text of the deal that he made available on his website.
To review the full text of the Iran nuclear deal, click here.
To review a one-page overview of the deal, click here.