MSNBC's Hayes Sees Bipartisan Opposition to Obama Iran Deal As 'Extreme' and 'Nefarious'
On MSNBC's All In with Chris Hayes show, host Hayes tagged opponents of President Obama's deal with Iran over its nuclear program as "extreme" and "nefarious' even while acknowledging that the opposition is bipartisan. Hayes began the segment:
You'll remember that before the holidays, President Obama announced the most significant diplomatic breakthrough between the United States and Iran in over 30 years. But there are powerful, extreme forces working to scuttle the deal, powerful, extreme forces known as the United States Senate and the nefarious armies of bipartisan compromise.
A bit later, he fretted that Congress would "violate the terms of the deal," even though Congress has not legally signed onto a deal with Iran. Hayes:
The interim six-month deal with Iran announced by the President would freeze Iran's nuclear program in exchange for a comparatively meager sanctions relief. According to the Washington Post, sanctions relief under the interim agreement could be worth about $7 billion over the six-month period. That's compared to the $100 billion in frozen Iranian oil revenue that would remain in place, and new sanctions by Congress during the six-month period could actually violate the terms of the deal.
He added:
And yet, a bipartisan group of senior Senators are, quote, "spending the remaining week of the Thanksgiving recess forging agreements on a new sanctions bill." Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez, a Democrat who supports new sanctions, says this will strengthen the administration's hand.
After a clip of New Jersey Democratic Senator Robert Menendez speaking in favor of additional sanctions, the MSNBC host quote the White House as he added:
The White House itself that negotiated the deal says no, it won't help. "If you want to hold our feet to the fire on the final deal, fine, do that," a senior administration said, "but that is a separate discussion from passing a sanctions bill in the middle of negotiations. Our view is passing these sanctions during the life of the negotiations would complicate negotiations in a number of ways."
Before bringing aboard Connecticut Democratic Rep. Chris Murphy for further discussion, Hayes took a jab at Congress:
And keep in mind, this Congress is on track to be the least productive Congress ever. Needs to reach deals on food stamps and a farm bill and arrive at a budget deal by January 15th in order to avoid another government shutdown. And yet, the one thing it looks like they will get together on is sabotaging the most promising chance at a peaceful deal with Iran we've had in 30-plus years.
