Hillary Clinton offered her most robust endorsement yet of the nuclear deal negotiated under the Obama administration between Iran and six world powers.



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The former secretary of state made her case in a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC on Wednesday, as the US Senate formally begins its debate on the accord in anticipation of a vote to disapprove the deal. Clinton, who stated her support for the agreement shortly after it was reached, elaborated on her position while emphasizing continued skepticism of the Iranian regime.

Clinton said the US faces a choice to either “move forward on a path to diplomacy or turn down more dangerous path leading to a far less certain and riskier future”.

The former secretary of state said the deal “blocks every pathway for Iran to get a bomb” and that it was “unrealistic” to get a better deal, as some opponents claimed was possible.

However, Clinton maintained her distrust for the Iranian regime. “I too am deeply concerned about Iranian aggression and need to confront it,” she said. “There is absolutely no reason to trust Iran.” Instead, she insisted her approach to dealing with Iran’s nuclear program would be “distrust but verify”.



Clinton’s disdain for the Iranian government was evident when she dismissed the Islamic Republic’s cooperation with the US in the nuclear deal. “I don’t see Iran as our partner in implementing the agreement,” she said. “I see Iran as our subject in implementing the agreement.”



Further, Clinton made clear she would be willing to launch military strikes against Iran if the regime attempted to contravene its agreement and build a nuclear weapon anyway. “I will not hesitate to take military action if Iran attempts to obtain a nuclear weapon.”

Clinton also tried to assuage Israeli concerns about the Iran deal. She insisted the agreement makes Israel safer and told Israelis that, if elected, “you’ll never have to question whether we are with you. The United States will always be with you”.

Clinton introduced a five-point plan focused on building regional alliances to counter what called “Iran’s bad behavior in the region”. This will include continued military aid to Israel in particular, as to the US’s Gulf allies, along with taking steps to counter growing Iranian influence in the Middle East, particularly through proxy groups like Hezbollah. She will also emphasize the need to crack down on Iranian human rights abuses, and leave the door open to broadening sanctions on the regime.

While majorities in both houses of Congress oppose the Iran deal, there will be sufficient support from Democrats to stop it being torpedoed. This will be alluded to by Clinton, who will say: “The outcome of the deal in Congress is no longer in much doubt.”

Under the terms of the deal the Iranians must eliminate 98% of their uranium stockpile and remove two-thirds of their uranium enriching centrifuges. That process, including verification of Iran’s compliance by the International Atomic Energy Agency, is expected to take six to nine months. In exchange an array of sanctions will be lifted against Iran, releasing over $100bn from blocked overseas accounts.

Clinton also weighed in on the ongoing refugee crisis in Syria, saying that “there should be an emergency global gathering, where UN tries to get commitments” from countries, modeled on efforts after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. She said that, at such a conference, “the United States has to be at the table, if not leading it” in effort to encourage all nations to either house refugees or provide funds to support resettlement efforts.

Clinton’s speech comes a few hours before a rally opposing the deal is held in front of the US Capitol featuring Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump as well as Senator Ted Cruz. Opponents have argued the agreement is not sufficiently robust to prevent Iran building a nuclear weapon and the lifting of sanctions will lead to increased Iranian aid to terrorist groups and the Assad regime.

The Obama administration has positioned the historic deal as the only viable pathway towards preventing Iran toward obtaining a nuclear weapon. Barack Obama has argued that those who want to tear up the agreement would be luring the United States into another Middle East war.



“Let’s not mince words, the choice we face is ultimately between diplomacy and some form of war. Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not three months from now, but soon,” Obama said in a speech last month.