CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia 1st District Congressman David McKinley and U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito said Monday they want Congress to have a voice in Iran’s nuclear weapon agreement.
According to the framework, Iran agreed to cut its supply of centrifuges by two-thirds, from nearly 19,000 to about 6,000 and retain only its earliest generation centrifuges.
The deal would keep continuing enrichment far below levels necessary for nuclear weapon. The Obama administration said it is taking other steps that would prevent Iran from advancing its nuclear program.
The Iranians want the sanctions to disappear immediately, but Obama said the sanctions would be phased out.
According to the New York Times, Obama said the newly agreed framework of a nuclear deal with Iran represented a “once in a lifetime opportunity” to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and a move toward stabilizing the Middle East.
“It’s been very clear that Iran will not get a nuclear weapon on my watch and I think they should understand that we mean it,” said Obama, during an interview with the newspaper.
Rep. McKinley said he wants be open minded about it, but there are vast differences between the American interpretation of the agreement and the Iranian.
“Perhaps it’s because of a political reality they want to put a spin on, so it passes. That’s why it’s so important that Congress has a voice on this,” said McKinley, on Monday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”
President Obama has posed an either/or scenario that if someone is against the measure, then that means the alternative is war, if there is no deal agreement.
“That’s how the spin takes place in this White House, but there are other choices and the one choice is: it increases sanctions,” said McKinley.
McKinley and Capito said they believe the Americans should continue the sanctions until there is verification that the Iranians are abiding by the agreement.
“We’re the voice of the people. We should be able to see the details and be a part of the process,” said Capito, also a guest on “Talkline.”
Capito signed off on U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) proposal, which delays the lifting of the sanctions for 60 days, so it would carry through when the final framework would be in place of the deal with Iran. Corker currently has 66 votes, just one vote short of a veto resolution.
Capito said there is a lot of confusion about whether the sanctions would be lifted. When they are, she said there would not be an “economic relief,” like the Iranians believe, because there is a lot of unrest overseas.
She said she believes the terrorist activity is moving forward because it is being funded by Iran.
“That concerns me for our own national security,” said Capito.
Capito said they wrote a letter to the Iranians explaining that Congress should have a voice. She said she believes the vote, expected to occur in the foreign relations committee on April 14, will pass.
“I voted for increased sanctions because that’s what brought Iran to the table, so I think the letter basically framed out we’re going to have some buy-in here and we should,” said Capito.