Sires skeptical of Iran deal

HUDSON COUNTY — Rep. Albio Sires (D-14 th Dist.) said he is deeply skeptical of the recent deal with Iran blocking access to nuclear weapons.
After more than 20 months of negotiators, Iran and the United States reached an agreement on July 14 aimed at reining in Iran’s nuclear program.
As part of the agreement that was pushed by President Barack Obama, sanctions against Iran over its nuclear weapons research, would be slowly restored and inspectors would have complete access to monitor potential violations.
“The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action announced by the P5+1 represents two years of intense negotiations and a decade of international pressure and sanctions that led us to this agreement,” Sires said. “While I support efforts to pursue a peaceful path to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions I am deeply skeptical that the proposed agreement will actually prevent them from acquiring a nuclear weapon. Iran has spent decades evading international sanctions, promoting terror in the region, and violently oppressing its own people. Any proposed deal with Iran must include the most intrusive inspections regime to verify that Iran is compliant with the agreement and unable to flout the parameters undetected. I have concerns regarding the enforcement measures within the proposal and the international community’s ability to ensure Iran is playing by the rules. Furthermore, it is unclear what will happen to Iran’s nuclear program after the initial pressure to comply dissipates and Iran is allowed to enhance its nuclear and weapons capabilities.”
Sires said he intends to carefully review the agreement to see if it will indeed keep Iran from being able to manufacture nuclear weapons.