Boehner: Nuclear standoff with Iran is better than bad deal

A nuclear standoff with Iran is preferable to the deal currently being negotiated by the Obama administration, Speaker John Boehner is charging.

{mosads}The Ohio Republican suggested administration negotiators have conceded too much to the Iranians, arguing that he’d rather scrap the talks than continue on the current path.

“No deal is better than a bad deal. And from everything that’s leaked from these negotiations, the administration’s backed away from almost all of the guidelines that they set up for themselves,” Boehner said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program. “And so if, in fact, there’s no agreement, the sanctions are going to go back in place. And at some point, the Iranian regime, they’re going to have to change their behavior. Abandon their efforts to get a nuclear weapon, and stop being the largest state sponsor of terrorism in the world.”

Asked what happens if the talks fail and Iran continues its nuclear ambitions, Boehner said: “Then we’ll have a standoff.”

“But that’s a lot better than legitimizing this rogue regime,” he added. “If, in fact, there’s a deal, that’s what’ll happen.”

Secretary of State John Kerry is leading multinational talks in Vienna designed to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon in return for relaxed economic sanctions. The negotiators have twice pushed a deadline for reaching a deal, but Kerry has insisted they’re on a path to succeed.

Kerry said this weekend that negotiators are still at odds over “a few tough things,” but he’s hopeful an agreement can be reached soon.