Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Wednesday that the Obama administration sounds like it’s getting its talking points on the Iran nuclear negotiations straight from the Iranians themselves.
Menendez made the comment during a hearing on the Iran nuclear talks following Tuesday’s State of the Union address, in which President Barack Obama warned that he would veto any new sanctions bill Congress may put forward.
“The more I hear from the administration and its quotes, the more it sounds like talking points that come straight out of Tehran,” Menendez said. “And it feeds to the Iranian narrative of victimization, when they are the ones with original sin — an illicit nuclear weapons program going back over the course of 20 years that they are unwilling to come clean on.”
Menendez and Obama reportedly got into a tense exchange over the nuclear talks last week at the Senate Democratic Issues conference, according to the New York Times.
Two anonymous sources who witnessed the exchange told the newspaper that Menendez said he took “personal offense” at the President’s urging lawmakers not to pursue sanctions against Iran for short-term political gain.
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Talk about being part of the problem.
I’ve never been quite clear where Menendex is coming from on this. Yeah, he’s quite a hawk generally. But, when it comes to Iran, it almost seems there’s something irrational going on. Is there some personal factor unknown to me?
We really do have a chance for significant diplomatic breakthroughs with Iran, even with every effort by the GOP to sabotage everything. But why-oh-why is Menendez also aiming to unleash a nuclear Iran by helping Republicans kill negotiations? What’s up?
Yes, Senator, the Obama administration and the Iranian regime are completely on the same page.
That’s why the economic sanctions we and our allies have imposed on them in order to get them to the negotiating table have devastated their economy.
Now that we are making fitful starts over the Iran nuclear issue, Menendez wants to blow it all up with additional, provocative sanctions that could only lead to a collapse in the talks and the international coalition that we have built – which include even China and Russia.
No, Menenedez is not satisfied that Iran is on its knees – he wants to see them crawling on their bellies.
And to what end?
This douche has been on my douche list for a very long and douchey time.
I think he’s just mad about Cuba and is throwing a hissy over it in any way he can.
And the Senator from Israel is heard from…