U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) has joined the chorus of legislators questioning the sincerity of Iran’s negotiations on a nuclear deal.
He especially wondered how Secretary of State John Kerry could say that “substantial progress” is being made toward resolving the stalemate with the rogue state after Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei urged “death to America” during a speech in Tehran over the weekend.
“The U.S. should stand strong against any regime that calls for death to America,” Buchanan said. “It’s time to let the world know that America is serious about protecting its interests and its allies.”
Especially alarming to Buchanan were reports that the Obama Administration is considering letting Iran to continue to operate up to 6,000 centrifuges. Centrifuges are used to enrich uranium, and 5,000 are considered by many to be the number necessary to create a nuclear weapon. The U.S. was hoping to get Iran to agree to lower its number of centrifuges down to 1,500 from the 10,000 in service now.
“Accepting any agreement that leaves the door open to Iran’s continued pursuit of a nuclear weapon should be a non-starter,” Buchanan said. “No deal is better than a bad deal.”