Louisiana Politicians Respond To Iranian Nuclear Deal

Iran, the United States and five other countries have come together to reach a deal on Iran's nuclear program.  The goal of the program according to President Obama is to keep the country from building a nuclear weapon.

The deal also allows sanctions on Iran to be lifted including:

• Sanctions on Iran's oil and gas trading capacity
• Sanctions of Iran's financial transactions
• Sanctions of air travel along with shipping
• Sanctions will be lifted that had puyt a hold on many of the country's assets

The reaction from members of Congress and the Senate have been mixed.  Obama says if Congress passes a measure to deny the deal, he will veto that measure.

Louisiana Congressman Charles Boustany tells KPEL he can't support this deal until he knows that there is actual proof that Iran won't use the technology in a military fashion, and that they will really give full cooperation of access to their sites to ensure a nuclear weapon is not being producted.

Here is what Boustany released in a statement today:

 “As Congress takes time to carefully read through the text of this deal, it’s imperative to keep in mind the stakes couldn’t be higher. To support this deal, I want the inclusion of free and unscheduled International Atomic Energy Agency inspection of all nuclear facilities, as well as Iran’s entire nuclear supply chain, access to Iranian scientists to understand what they know about their current and past enrichment programs, reduction of sanctions only after concrete proof of Iranian cooperation, and restrictions on the Iranian military use of this technology. I continue to believe that no deal is better than a bad deal, and I won’t accept anything less than an agreement fully protecting American security and the broader stability of the Middle East region.”

Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy says this deal is naive.  Here is Cassiday's statement that was issued today:

"If the President gives Iran enough leeway, it's naive to think they will not continue to develop their nuclear program. No deal is better than a bad deal. If it jeopardizes American security and global stability in any way, Congress cannot support." 

House Speaker John Boehner is cautioning the Presdient Obama's administration that if, after they are given all of the written details of the plan, they don't agree with it, they will work to block the measure.

Boehner says from what he can tells at this point, the Iranian deal is not a good one, and he expects that House Republicans will fight the deal.

Louisiana Senator David Vitter echoes the concerns of Republican lawmakers.  The following is his statement:

“This agreement is a really, really bad deal for America, for Israel, and for freedom,” Vitter said. “First, under its own terms, the deal accepts Iran eventually getting nuclear weapons. Second, there are huge holes in verification which, to me, make it certain that Iran will successfully cheat.”