Susan Rice: Iran Deal Is ‘Most Comprehensive and Effective’ Nuclear Plan Ever

IFILL: “We return to the news that dominated today, the nuclear deal with Iran. A short while ago, I spoke with Susan Rice, the president’s national security adviser. Ambassador Rice, thank you for joining us. One of our leading allies, Benjamin Netanyahu, prime minister of Israel, today called this deal an historic mistake. Why is he wrong?”

RICE: “National Security Advisor: Well, he’s wrong, Gwen, because this is actually a very strong deal that, when implemented, will cut off all of Iran’s potential pathways to a nuclear weapon in a fully verifiable fashion. We will have very intrusive 24/7 presence at all elements of Iran’s nuclear supply chain and all of its declared facilities. We will have the ability to inspect facilities about which there are suspicions. We will reduce Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium by 98 percent. Two-thirds of its centrifuges will be dismantled and removed and stored under international observation. This will be the most comprehensive and effective nuclear transparency regime ever implemented. So, in fact, that is not the case. And I think it’s worth recalling that Prime Minister Netanyahu was equally critical of the interim agreement that we announced in November of 2013. He called that also a historic mistake and he said the sanctions regime would crumble down. Now he and many others are arguing that we shouldn’t take the comprehensive deal that we just negotiated. We should stick with the interim agreement that he criticized almost two years ago. So, I think, as time passes, if this is effectively implemented -- and we believe it will be -- then he will in due course see its benefits, as we do. But the important thing to understand, Gwen, is that Iran will not receive any sanctions relief under this comprehensive deal until it has taken all the necessary steps to meet its nuclear requirements. So, until it has dismantled the centrifuges that it is required to dismantle at Natanz and Fordow, until it’s shipped out its stockpile of enriched uranium, until it’s dismantled the core of its plutonium reactor, there will be no sanctions relief. And so then we don’t lose anything for going down this diplomatic path.”