Carter: Successful Iran nuke deal better than military strike

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Wednesday that the U.S. armed forces stand ready to confront Iran, but told lawmakers that a successful implementation of the nuclear agreement with Tehran is preferable to a military strike.

Carter, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and three members of President Barack Obama’s Cabinet testified at a committee hearing as part of the White House’s aggressive campaign to persuade Congress to back the Iranian nuclear deal, which calls on Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief.

Carter said there is a possibility that the nuclear agreement will move forward, but will not be “successfully implemented.”

“That’s why we are under instructions from the president to preserve, and indeed we are improving – and I can’t get into that here – the military option,” Carter said. “Temporary as it is, it needs to be there because that’s our fallback.”

At the same time, Carter said that the successful implementation of the agreement would be better than taking military action because a strike would be temporary and likely would make Iran “irreconcilably resigned” to getting a nuclear weapon.

Dempsey added that implementation of the nuclear deal actually strengthens the military option because with enhanced inspections and access to sites in Iran, the U.S. would be able to obtain more knowledge about nuclear sites “that we might strike.”

Congress, which has begun a 60-day review of the deal, is expected to vote in September. If the Republican-controlled Congress passes a resolution of disapproval for the deal, Obama has said he will veto it. The administration is hoping to secure the backing of Democrats to sustain the veto.

On Tuesday, the White House won the backing of Democratic Rep. Sander Levin, a Jewish lawmaker from Michigan. His support was critical because Iran has threatened to destroy Israel.