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Sunday 26 July 2015 - 12:44

Iran agreement 'greatest betrayal' of US security in history: WH hopeful

Story Code : 476125
Republican US presidential candidate and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum speaks on July 18, 2015 in Ames, Iowa.
Republican US presidential candidate and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum speaks on July 18, 2015 in Ames, Iowa.
“This is the greatest betrayal of American national security in our history,” the former Pennsylvania senator said on Saturday.
 
Santorum is running as a candidate for the 2016 Republican Party presidential nomination. In 2012, he also ran for the GOP nomination and finished second to the eventual Republican nominee Mitt Romney.
 
Iran and the P5+1 group of countries - the US, Britain, France, Russia, China, and Germany – announced the conclusion of nuclear negotiations in the Austrian capital of Vienna on July 14, following weeks of intensive talks.
 
According to the text of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran will be recognized by the United Nations as a nuclear power and will continue its uranium enrichment program.
 
But some restrictions will be placed on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the removal of sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
 
Addressing a summit in New Hampshire, Santorum claimed that Iran will cheat during the implementation of the agreement.
 
“They will violate the agreement. They will continue to sponsor terror all over the world,” he said.
 
Most Republicans oppose the nuclear agreement with Iran, but they need a two-thirds vote in both chambers of Congress to override a possible presidential veto, and to reach that threshold, Republicans need Democratic support.
 
The White House has launched a sales pitch to the Republican-controlled Congress, which remains skeptical of the nuclear accord with Iran, and has 60 days to vote to either approve or disapprove of it.
 
Analysts say Republican presidential candidates are opposing the nuclear agreement to avoid angering the pro-Israel lobby and preventing their Democratic rivals from getting any political advantage by resolving the Iranian nuclear issue.
 
Santorum also accused Republican lawmakers of lacking the courage to stand up to President Barack Obama. 
 
"They are so afraid to fight," he added. "They have now decided that the only way to survive is to go along with him."
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