Graham says Hillary would cut a better Iran deal than Obama

Sen. Lindsey Graham suggested on Sunday that Hillary Clinton could get a better nuclear deal with Iran than President Barack Obama.

The South Carolina Republican, who is mulling his own bid for presidency, also took a shot at a potential Republican rival, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, in an interview on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”


“The best deal, I think, comes with a new president,” Graham said. “Hillary Clinton would do better. I think everybody on our side, except maybe Rand Paul, could do better.”

Graham said that Obama may have struck the best deal he could, but the senator argued the president was a “flawed negotiator.”

“His foreign policy has failed on multiple fronts,” Graham said. “Nobody in the region trusts him. The Iranians do not fear or respect him, so he’ll never be able to get the best deal.”

Graham also rejected Obama’s assertion that the alternative to the nuclear deal was war with Iran.

“I believe there’s a better deal,” Graham said. “I don’t want a war, but at the end of the day I don’t want to give Iran the tools and the capability to continue to destroy the Middle East and one day attack us by building bigger missiles.”

When Congress returns from its spring break next week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is planning to act on legislation that would require Congress to agree to lift sanctions on Iran as part of the deal. The White House has warned the bill could kill an accord with Iran, where the two sides still have to hammer out the final details of the agreement by the end of June.

But Graham said he could wait for a final deal before Congress held a vote.

“I think Congress will require any deal negotiated with the Iranians to come to the Congress for our review before we lift congressional sanctions,” Graham said.

“I don’t mind giving the administration the time between now and June to put this deal together, because when you listen to the Iranians and Secretary [of State John] Kerry, it’s almost like you’re talking two different deals,” Graham said. “I support the idea of giving them time to put the deal together, but I insist that Congress review the deal, debate and vote on it before it comes final.”