Connecticut Congressman Joe Courtney joins a classified bipartisan briefing today on the Iran nuclear deal.
Speaking on WNPR’s Where We Live, Courtney said the agreement really turns on the legitimacy and integrity of the inspection process.
"Lookit, this deal is not based on trust. Iran is a bad actor and they still are to this minute as we’re sitting here," said Courtney. "There was concern that military installations in Iran would be off limits to IAEA inspectors, that was totally unacceptable. You’re not going to have a credible inspection regime if there’s places you can’t go, particularly military places."
Courtney said his concerns about that have been set aside. Now he wants to learn more about what happens when Iran objects to requests for inspections.
"There is a process, which, again, the administration would argue is very truncated in terms of trying to resolve a dispute, but looking at the fine print it looks like its about a 24-day process," said Courtney. He wants to understand if that would give Iran time to remove key items. He also wants more information on the snapback time for sanctions if Iran violates the agreement.
When asked about the idea of possibly setting back Iran’s nuclear capability for ten years or so, but at the same time allowing other kinds of nefarious behavior, Courtney said, "That’s a part of the world where we’re still going to have our hands full. At the same time I think there has to be a recognition that if there’s a denuclearized Iran that is really credible, that’s a good thing for the world.
Courtney sits on the House Armed Services Committee.