Speaking today at American University, President Obama sought to defend the P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran as a triumph of diplomacy, likening it to the US “winning the Cold War without firing a shot at the Soviets.”

He then addressed the prospect of Congress killing the deal, and of the intense lobbying campaign being carried out against the deal, noting the similarity of the rhetoric to that ahead of the 2003 Iraq invasion, explaining that it was many of the same people opposed to diplomacy yet again.

Obama went on to note that Iran’s hardliners, the ones chanting “death to America,” are also opponents of the nuclear pact, saying that they and the Republican caucus were both comfortable with the status quo and have “common cause” in trying to kill the diplomacy deal.

The president went on to say that the opponents have a mindset that “puts a premium on unilateral US action” and demonstrates a “preference for military action over diplomacy,” saying that they are exaggerating the threats posed by Iran far beyond what is justified by the intelligence.