A pending agreement between the United States and Iran regarding nuclear capabilities for the Middle Eastern nation continues to be a major focus in Washington, according to one local representative.
“I think this is going to be one of the biggest votes, if not the biggest vote, I make during my time in Congress,” U.S. Rep. Phil Roe, R-1st, said in a telephone call Thursday.
On Wednesday, Roe took part in a two-hour-long confidential briefing on the agreement along with Secretary of State John Kerry and several other top government officials. While some of the subjects discussed during the briefing were confidential and Roe could not talk about them, he said what he heard did not give him any reason to find hope with the agreement.
“I have read extensively about this agreement,” Roe said. “After the two hours I spent in this briefing I don’t see any way that I can support this deal.”
Now that the agreement has tentatively been reached, Congress will have 60 days to take action on the proposal, which Roe said would set the deadline some time in September.
Though he admits he was always skeptical of an agreement between the U.S. and Iran, Roe said the more he hears about the agreement the less he likes it, adding he feels it leaves “wiggle room” for Iran to develop nuclear weapons.
“What I believe will happen is this agreement will start a nuclear arms race in the Middle East,” Roe said. Roe also noted several terrorist events over the years have been linked to Iran – such as the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1979, the Lebanon Hostage Crisis in 1982, the 1983 bombings of the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Marine Barracks in Beirut and the Hijacking of TWA Flight 847 in 1985 – as well as the nation’s support and backing of terrorist organizations such as ISIS, Hamas and Hezbollah in recent years.
“I don’t think the world is a safer place with nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, especially in a country with radical Islamic ties,” Roe said. “When you have people willing to strap bombs to children, a nuclear bomb becomes another weapon for them.”
When the measure comes to a vote before congress, Roe said he believes it will fail in both the House of Representatives and in the Senate.