Obama on Iran: This Deal Will Give Presidents in ‘15 Years’ More Power over Iran
RUSH TRANSCRIPT:
BARACK OBAMA: "Well, so -- so let's address this issue of -- because that's the other big argument that's been made. All right. Let's assume that the deal holds for ten years. Iran doesn't cheat. Now, at the end of ten years some of the restrictions have been lifted. Although, remember, others stay in place for 15 years. For example, they still have got to keep their stockpiles at a minimal level for 15 years. The inspections don't go away. Those are still in place. 15, 20 years from now. Their commitment under the non-proliferation treaty does not go away. That's still in place.
"The additional protocol that they have to sign up for under this deal, which requires a more extensive inspection and verification mechanism, that stays in place. So there is no scenario in which a U.S. president is not in a stronger position 12, 13, 15 years from now, if in fact Iran decided at that point they still wanted to get a nuclear weapon. Keep in mind, we maintain a one-year breakout time. We'll have rolled back their program, frozen their facilities, kept them under severe restrictions, had observers. They will have made international commitments supported by countries around the world.
"And -- hold on a second. And, if at that point they finally decided, you know what, we're going to cheat, or not even cheat. At that point they decide openly, we're now pursuing a nuclear weapon. They're still in violation of this deal and the commitments they've made internationally. And so we are still in a position to mobilize the world's community to say, no, you can't have a nuclear weapon. And they're not in a stronger position to get a nuclear weapon at that point. They're in a weaker position than they are in today. And by the way, we haven't given away any of our military capabilities. We're not in a weaker position to respond. So even if everything the critics were saying was true, that at the end of ten years or 12 years or 15 years Iran now is in a position to decide it wants a nuclear weapon, that they're at a breakout point, they won't be at a breakout point that is more dangerous than the breakout point they're in right now. They won't be at a breakout point that is shorter than the one that exists today. And so, why wouldn't we at least make sure that, for the next ten, 15 years they are not getting a nuclear weapon and we can verify it. And afterwards, if they decide -- if they've changed their mind, we are then much more knowledgeable about what their capabilities are, much more knowledgeable about what their program is, and still in a position to take whatever actions we would take today."
REPORTER: Hope that they change their behavior --"
OBAMA: "No! I'm always hopeful that behavior may change, for the sake of the Iranian people as well as people in the region. There are young people there who are not getting the opportunities they deserve because of conflict, because of sectarianism, because of poor governance, because of repression, because of terrorism. And I remain eternally hopeful that we can do something about that, and it should be part of U.S. Foreign policy to do something about that. But I'm not banking on that to say that this deal is the right thing to do. Again, it is incumbent on the critics of this deal to explain how an American president is in a worse position 12, 13, 14, 15 years from now if in fact at that point Iran says, we're going to pull out of the MPT, kick out inspectors, and go for a nuclear bomb. If that happens, that president will be in a better position than would happen if Iran, as a consequence of Congress rejecting this deal, decides that's it, we're done negotiating. We're going after a bomb right now. The choices would be tougher today than they would be for that president 15 years from now. And I have not yet heard logic that refutes that. All right?
