SPRINGDALE -- A wealthier Iran would be a serious threat to the United States even without nuclear weapons, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., told the Springdale Rotary Club on Monday.
Cotton repeated his argument that the proposed multinational deal to lift sanctions would fail to deter Iran from making a nuclear weapon.
"If this deal goes through, it will give Iran tens of billions of dollars immediately," Cotton said at a noon meeting in the Springdale Holiday Inn and Convention Center. The deal would release frozen Iranian assets in the United States that were impounded decades ago.
"That money isn't going to just build swimming pools and YMCAs," Cotton said. "Some of it will go to pay for more attacks they're already launching on the United States and their allies. One dollar is too much to give Iran when there's no doubt the money will be used to kill Americans and kill Jews."
President Obama's administration has announced its intention to abide by the agreement's terms. Congressional Republicans expect to pass a resolution rejecting the deal. The president would then need the support of at least one-third of either chamber of Congress to prevent an override of his veto, and the administration acknowledges that it can only get that kind of support in the Senate.
Vince Insalaco, chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party, wondered aloud when reached for comment later Monday what alternative Cotton was offering.
"The implied answer, since the sanctions aren't stopping the Iranians now, is military action. I don't think the people of Arkansas are ready to go to war with Iran," Insalaco said.
No Republicans have announced support for the Iran agreement, but 28 Democrats have. The president needs the support of at least six of the remaining 17 uncommitted Democratic senators to safeguard against a veto.
Cotton is an outspoken opponent of the nuclear deal, saying Iran has remained a constant, active U.S. enemy since the Nov. 4, 1979, attack on the U.S. embassy there. Iran also pays for proxies to attack other countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Israel, he said. It is able to do that while constrained to an economy roughly the size and value of the state of Maryland's, he said.
A Section on 08/25/2015