Last updated on: 9/2/2015 10:04:08 AM PST
Is the Nuclear Arms Deal with Iran Good for America?
Pro (Yes)
Pro
"Now there is a comprehensive agreement on Iran's nuclear program. Is it perfect? Well of course not. No agreement like this ever is. But is it a strong agreement? Yes it is. And we absolutely should not turn it down...
It accomplishes the major goals we set out to achieve. It blocks every pathway for Iran to get a bomb. It gives us better tools for verification and inspection and to compel rigorous compliance...
Our experts tell us that even with delayed access to some places, this deal does the job."
Source: Brookings Institution, "Hillary Clinton Addresses the Iran Nuclear Deal," brookings.edu, Sep. 9, 2015
Pro
"It (conclusion of Iran nuclear talks) is critically important... Now, the truth of the matter is that the US intelligence agencies and even Israeli intelligence agencies all agree that this is much to do about nothing. Israel on the other hand has nuclear weapons right now. So in my view, this agreement should just be a first step towards creating a nuclear-free Middle East and a nuclear free world...
US foreign policy needs to be a foreign policy based on international law, human rights, and diplomacy. So, what has happened here in the negotiations around Iran is a good example of diplomacy, but it needs to be massively expanded."
Source: Tasnim News Agency, "Jill Stein: Iran Deal Prelude to Nuclear Free World," tasnimnews.com, Aug. 4, 2015
[Editor's Note: Jill Stein is a signatory of the Code Pink statement "Women Support the Iran Nuclear Deal," available at codepink.org.]
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Con (No)
Con
"The Obama Administration's agreement with Iran is very dangerous.
Iran developing a nuclear weapon, either through uranium or nuclear fuel, and defying the world is still a very real possibility. The inspections will not be followed, and Iran will no longer have any sanctions. Iran gets everything and loses nothing.
Every promise the Obama Administration made in the beginning of negotiations, including the vow (made at the beginning of the negotiations) to get our great American prisoners returned to the U. S. has been broken. This is a bad deal that sets a dangerous precedent.
This deal sets off a nuclear arms race in the Middle East, which is the most-unstable region in the world. It is a horrible and perhaps catastrophic event for Israel.
Furthermore, we should have kept the billions of dollars we have agreed to pay them. Any great dealmaker would know this is a perfect example of 'tapping along' and because they have been unchecked for so long throughout this extremely lengthy process, I guarantee they are much closer to producing a nuclear weapon than they were at the start of negotiations.
The fact is, the US has incompetent leaders and even more incompetent negotiators. We must do better for America and the world. We have to Make America Great Again."
Source: Fox News Insider, "'A Staggeringly Bad Deal': 2016 GOP Field Reacts to Obama's Nuclear Deal with Iran," insider.foxnews.com, July 14, 2015
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Not Clearly Pro or Con
"[Gary Johnson:] I'm skeptical from the standpoint that, this may sound naïve, but when I came to recognize that in fact Iran is the largest funder of terrorism, and that this deal unfroze assets that, from what I can ascertain, are between 100 billion and 155 billion dollars, and Secretary Kerry himself says that some of this money will in fact be spent on terrorism. That makes me a skeptic. On the deal side, which none of us have been privy to the particulars, but on the deal side of it we do have I guess a 10 year no nuke agreement with them and that it is subject to verification. So, I guess I'm a skeptic and at the same time, we do have plenty of monitoring capability, and we’ll just see what happens. So, I'm originally very much in favor, I've come to find out they fund terrorism, ok so now I'm a skeptic. It's been signed, it's been agreed to, so I'm skeptical. Let's see what happens going forward.
[Jay Rakow:] Would you describe that more as being opposed?
[Gary Johnson:] I guess it's really mixed feelings."
Source: Phone Interview with ProCon.org, June 14, 2016
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FORMER CANDIDATES
(Candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria appear below in black and white and in alphabetical order.)
Pro (Yes)
Pro
"The test of a great nation is not how many wars it can engage in, but how it can resolve international conflicts in a peaceful manner...
The war in Iraq, which I opposed, destabilized the entire region, helped create the Islamic State, cost the lives of 6,700 brave men and women and resulted in hundreds of thousands of others in our armed forces returning home with post-traumatic-stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries. I fear that many of my Republican colleagues do not understand that war must be a last resort, not the first resort...
The United States must do everything it can to make certain that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon, that Israel is not threatened by a nuclear Iran and that a nuclear arms race in the region is avoided...
President Obama and Secretary Kerry have worked through a very difficult process with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, China, Russia and Iran. This agreement is obviously not all that many of us would have liked but it beats the alternative – a war with Iran that could go on for years...
If Iran moves toward a nuclear weapon, all available options remain on the table. I think it is incumbent upon us, however, to give the negotiated agreement a chance to succeed. That is why I will support the agreement."
Source: Bernie Sanders, "Sanders Supports Iran Nuclear Deal," sanders.senate.gov, Aug. 7, 2015
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Con (No)
Con
"The nuclear agreement announced by the Obama Administration today is a dangerous, deeply flawed, and short sighted deal.
A comprehensive agreement should require Iran to verifiably abandon – not simply delay – its pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability...
The clerical leaders in Tehran routinely preach 'death to America' and 'death to Israel' – and through their acts of terror, they mean it. We must take these threats seriously and should not base any agreements on the hope their behavior will moderate over time.
The people of Iran, the region, Israel, America, and the world deserve better than a deal that consolidates the grip on power of the violent revolutionary clerics who rule Tehran with an iron fist.
This isn't diplomacy – it is appeasement."
Source: Jeb Bush, "Jeb Bush on the Obama Administration's Nuclear Deal with Iran," jeb2016.com, July 14, 2015
Con
"The Iran deal announced today with fanfare and another heaping dose of false hope is almost certain to prove an historic mistake with potentially deadly consequences.
A careful review of the 100-plus pages is in order to fully understand the lengths to which the negotiators were willing to stoop to secure a deal at any cost with the world's leading sponsor of terrorism and a regime dedicated in word and deed to bringing death to America.
Without anywhere anytime surprise inspections, a full accounting of Iran's past secret nuclear arms pursuits, elimination of Iran's uranium stockpiles and the lifting of any sanctions only upon verification of Iranian compliance, this is not a good deal, but a recipe for disaster and the first fateful step toward a frenzied nuclear arms race in the Middle East."
Source: Fox News Insider, "'A Staggeringly Bad Deal': 2016 GOP Field Reacts to Obama's Nuclear Deal with Iran," insider.foxnews.com, July 14, 2015
Con
"Look at this Iran deal. It is one of the worst things a president has ever foisted upon a country. Secret deals that he won't tell anybody about...
This president is now careening us towards a country like Iran having a nuclear weapon... We're going to let the Iranian Revolutionary Guard inspect Iranian military sites? And tell us whether they're cheating? This is the regime that's been cheating for 12 years on the nuclear program, and the same regime that's been chanting 'death to America' since 1979...
This is wrong, and it needs to be rejected."
Source: Squawk Box, "Chris Christie: Iran Deal Wrong," cnbc.com, Aug. 27, 2015
Con
"This Obama Iranian Nuclear Deal is a bad deal. It keeps getting worse. The more you hear about the deal, the less confident you are…
This deal is not materially different than simply calling the Iranian supreme leader, asking if they're developing nuclear weapons, and taking his word for it when he says ‘no.'
The idea that we would trust Iran to inspect their own facilities takes a level of gullibility and naiveté that exceeds the standards even of the Obama Administration. Nobody would sign this agreement without knowing full well that the predictable and certain outcome of this agreement is that Iran will acquire nuclear weapons. And no one in their right mind would want a regime that is led by a radical, theocratic Ayatollah, who chants ‘Death to America,' to acquire nuclear weapons...
In my view, the Iranian nuclear deal is catastrophic, and there is no higher priority over the next 60 days than to energize and mobilize the American people to reach out to every member of Congress, Republican and Democrat, and urge them to reject this deal."
Source: Ted Cruz, "Sen. Cruz: This Deal Is No Different than Calling the Iranian Supreme Leader, Asking If They’re Developing Nuclear Weapons, and Taking His Word for It," cruz.senate.gov, Aug. 5, 2015
Con
"The deal that the United States has negotiated with Iran poses a grave threat to American security at home and abroad.
U.S. officials know that Iran has had a long-term plan to gain a nuclear weapon and destabilize the region through its support of terrorist organizations. And it is known that President Rouhani has never agreed to full and unfettered United Nations inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities...
This is not an agreement which will make Americans proud. It is not a deal that demonstrates our strength and resolve at home and abroad. Our allies will not point to this as a signal of our continued support...
[W]e cannot and must not accept this deal with Iran."
Source: "A False Choice and a Flawed Deal," foxnews.com, Apr. 2, 2015
Con
"I think this is such a bad deal, it'd be hard to muster 20 votes [in the Senate]. Because what the president has done, he's taken the world's most destabilizing power, one of our chief antagonists - [Iran] killed hundreds of Americans in Iraq - and he's guaranteed that they're going to become a nuclear nation. Instead of dismantling it, this deal locks in their nuclear program."
Source: Fox News Insider, "'A Staggeringly Bad Deal': 2016 GOP Field Reacts to Obama's Nuclear Deal with Iran," insider.foxnews.com, July 14, 2015
Con
"Shame on the Obama administration for agreeing to a deal that empowers an evil Iranian regime to carry out its threat to 'wipe Israel off the map' and bring 'death to America.'
John Kerry should have long ago gotten up on his crutches, walked out of the sham talks, and went straight to Jerusalem to stand next to Benjamin Netanyahu and declared that America will stand with Israel and the other sane governments of the Middle East instead of with the terrorist government of Iran.
As president, I will stand with Israel and keep all options on the table, including military force, to topple the terrorist Iranian regime and defeat the evil forces of radical Islam."
Source: Fox News Insider, "'A Staggeringly Bad Deal': 2016 GOP Field Reacts to Obama's Nuclear Deal with Iran," insider.foxnews.com, July 14, 2015
Con
"First of all, I think it's a bad agreement, I would never have done it. But, you know, a lot of our problems in the world today is that we don't have the relationship with our allies. If we want to go everywhere alone, we will not have the strength as if we could rebuild with our allies... if they [Iranian government leaders] cheat, we slap the sanctions back on. If they help Hamas, and Hezbollah, we slap the sanctions back on. And, if we find out that they may be developing a nuclear weapon, than the military option is on the table. We are stronger when we work with the Western civilization, our friends in Europe, and just doing it on our own I don't think is the right policy... If they fund these radical groups that threaten Israel and all of the West, then we should rip up the deal and put the sanctions back on."
Source: CNN, "GOP Presidential Debate. Aired 8:10-11:15p ET.," transcripts.cnn.com, Sep. 16, 2015
Con
"I oppose the Iranian deal, and will vote against it. I don't think that the president negotiated from a position of strength, but I don’t immediately discount negotiations.
I'm a Reagan conservative. Reagan did negotiate with the Soviets. But you have to negotiate from a position of strength, and I think President Obama gave away too much, too early.
If there's going to be a negotiation, you're going to have to believe somehow that the Iranians are going to comply. I asked this question to John Kerry, I said 'do you believe they're trustworthy?' and he said 'No.'
And I said, 'well, how are we gonna get them to comply?' I would have never released the sanctions before there was consistent evidence of compliance."
Source: TIME, "Transcript: Read the Full Text of the Primetime Republican Debate," time.com, Aug. 11, 2015
Con
"I do think it is important, for the world, and especially for Iran to understand that as far as the American sanctions are concerned, this is a deal whose survival is not guaranteed beyond the term of the current President.
And, by the way, I personally hope the next President is someone who will remove the national security waiver and reimpose the congressional sanctions that were passed by Congress, because this deal is fundamentally and irreparably flawed. I believe it weakens our national security, and it makes the world a more dangerous place...
No matter what happens, Iran will keep the more than billions of dollars it is going to receive up front, basically as a signing bonus. Iran will be allowed to continue to develop long-range ballistic missiles, ICBMs, that know only one purpose, and that is for nuclear warfare...
On terrorism, this deal will provide billions, possibly hundreds of billions, to a regime that, according to Director of National Intelligence Clapper 'directly threatens the interests of the United States and our allies.'
And lastly, nothing in the deal holds Iran to account on human rights. Quite the opposite, the Iranian regime, is being rewarded for its atrocious human rights record...
I hope enough of my Democratic colleagues can be persuaded to vote against this deal and prevent the president from executing it."
Source: Marco Rubio, "Obama Administration to Rubio: Next President Could Undo Iran Deal," rubio.senate.gov, July 23, 2015
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Not Clearly Pro or Con
"I think it holds a lot of promise... The key is that it has to be verifiable and enforceable. If Iran were our friend, we wouldn't have to negotiate... So the key now is to make sure that it is in fact enforceable, verifiable, tightly monitored, and that we're prepared to snap sanctions back into place in the event that the Iranians were to cheat on this. But I think it holds a lot of promise. And I think this is how an effective foreign policy works, not merely using our military powers, but also our diplomatic. We have to also be about waging peace. And perhaps this deal is that path forward."
Source: Clay Masters and Clare Roth, "Martin O'Malley on Minimum Wage, Iran, and ISIS," iowapublicradio.org, July 30, 2015
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