Iran Nuclear Deal: Republicans React To Agreement With West Asian Nation

If it seemed like Republicans reacted negatively to the deal with Iran, that’s because most of those quoted this week are running for President“Today, the Obama administration has agreed to remove U.S. and international sanctions, while permitting Iran to enrich uranium using most of the centrifuges in use today, conduct research into faster, next generation centrifuges, maintain an underground, hardened facility at Fordow, and expand its ballistic missile capabilities.” and engaged in a primary battle for the hearts and wallets of the party base. You don’t have to look much further than the members of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations to she how hard the divide is not just between Democrats and Republicans, but between those who are jockeying for a primary race and those who aren’t.

“This attempt to spin diplomatic failure as a success is just the latest example of this administration’s farcical approach to Iran,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said in a statement quoted by USA Today. “Our message to Iran should be clear: until the regime chooses a different path, the United States will continue to isolate Iran and impose pressure.”

Rubio, who will announce his presidential bid on April 13th, is a vocal member of the Committee on Foreign Relations. He’s doggedly attacked the White House on it’s foreign policy positions, from the Benghazi scandal -- “They didn’t want to admit it was a terrorist attack because to admit it was a terrorist attack was to admit that terrorism was still out there and reaching us”-- to Cuba -- “[Isn’t] every penny [tourist spend] more likely than not to end up in the hands of the Cuban regime?”

Republicans on the Committee are not uniform in their views. Here’s Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) at the Cuba hearing where Rubio made his comments, as well as Flake’s reaction to the Iran deal.

“If somebody’s going to restrict my travel, it should be a communist, not my own government,” Flake said during the hearing on warming ties to Cuba. Unlike Rubio, Flake has not indicated that he’ll run for president. It’s unsurprising then that he took a softer tone on the Iran deal, whose details are still being hashed out.

"Until all sides agree to the actual language of a deal, it is premature to render judgment on the parameters of an agreement. Since Congress will have to repeal the sanctions laws from which Iran seeks permanent relief, any deal reached with Iran will necessarily be subject to congressional review," Flake said, in a statement.

Democrats were also wary, but slightly more supportive of the Administration. "We don't yet know the details of a final deal, but initial reports are promising,” Barbara Boxer (D-CA), also a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement. “I know well that the devil is always in the details in this kind of negotiation," said former Secretary of State and a likely Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), who is also running for president, had the most surprising response: he declined to comment. According to Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post, it’s likely because Paul is trying to “navigate between the libertarian leanings of his staunchest supporters” who are more likely to oppose U.S. air strikes “and the conservative sentiments of the GOP base that he is trying to court,” traditionally hawks and pro-Israel hardliners.

Other Republican presidential hopefuls were less shy about courting their base. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush said that the deal would only “legitimize” Iran’s nuclear program. Unlike Flake, he felt that the details of the agreement were clear enough to admonish.

“Today, the Obama administration has agreed to remove U.S. and international sanctions, while permitting Iran to enrich uranium using most of the centrifuges in use today, conduct research into faster, next generation centrifuges, maintain an underground, hardened facility at Fordow, and expand its ballistic missile capabilities,” he said, in a statement.

Wisconsin governor Scott Walker, also a potential contender in the Republican primary, took it a step further.

“Obama’s dangerous deal with Iran rewards an enemy, undermines our allies and threatens our safety” Scott Walker said on his Twitter account.

Not to be out done, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), also of the Foreign Relations Committe compared Iran to the Nazis, and Democrats to the FDR administration.

“It is a terrible deal,” he told a crowd in Rock Hill, North Caroloina. “It is not surprising but I think it is a profound threat to the national security of America and to our allies… It is a historic mistake reminiscent of Munich in 1938.”