Boehner: Iran deal will ‘fuel a nuclear arms race’

President Obama’s deal with Iran will “fuel a nuclear arms race around the world,” Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Tuesday in a scathing rebuke of the agreement.

Boehner warned that the deal would hand Iran billions of dollars worth of sanctions relief while giving it space to develop a nuclear bomb.

{mosads}“Instead of making the world less dangerous, this ‘deal’ will only embolden Iran — the world’s largest sponsor of terror — by helping stabilize and legitimize its regime as it spreads even more violence and instability in the region,” Boehner said in his statement. “Instead of stopping the spread of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, this deal is likely to fuel a nuclear arms race around the world.”

Boehner vowed that the House would closely review every detail of the agreement, but he made clear he wouldn’t back any deal “that jeopardizes the safety of the American people and all who value freedom and security.”

“This isn’t about Republicans versus Democrats.  It’s about right and wrong,” the Speaker said. “And we will fight a bad deal that is wrong for our national security and wrong for our country.”

Obama defended the agreement on Tuesday morning at the White House, calling it “real and meaningful change” achieved through diplomacy.

“Today, because America negotiated from a position of strength and principle, we have stopped the spread of weapons in this region,” Obama said from the White House.

Boehner accused Obama of going wobbly and said the administration “abandoned” many of the goals it had set for the negotiations.

“At the outset of these talks, the Obama administration said it would secure an agreement that affirmed Iran does not have a right to enrich and permanently dismantles the infrastructure of its nuclear programs,” the Speaker said. “It said that sanctions would not be lifted until Iran met concrete, verifiable standards. And if these terms were not met, the president promised he would walk away. 

“The American people and our allies were counting on President Obama to keep his word. Instead, the president has abandoned his own goals.”