Sen. Steve Daines (R., Mont.) told constituents Tuesday that "partisan loyalists" of President Obama are the sole congressional lawmakers backing the nuclear deal with Iran.
Daines hosted a telephone town hall event in advance of the Senate vote on the nuclear agreement during which he warned Montana voters that the deal would produce a "more dangerous world."
"Not only will it fail to keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, it will give Iran more resources to continue on as the world’s leading sponsor of terrorism," Daines said.
Daines argued that the agreement threatens the "security of world" and "paves the way" for Iran to continue to fund terrorist groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas with billions of dollars in sanctions relief.
"I believe this deal is stacked against transparency and accountability," Daines said, citing the 24-day inspection delay permitted for Iran, in addition to the secret side deals between Tehran and the United Nations agency tasked with inspecting its nuclear facilities, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
A handful of voters who had the opportunity to ask questions of Daines regarding the deal expressed concern about its lack of transparency.
"I don’t think the American people have been told the truth on this policy that is coming out of the president’s cabinet," one female Montana voter worried.
Daines, who along with colleagues in Congress will vote on the deal sometime before Sept. 17, alleged that the only lawmakers backing the deal with Iran are "partisan loyalists of the president."
"The opposition for the deal is bipartisan, but the support for the deal is partisan," Daines said.
Indeed, multiple Democrats, including Sens. Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) and Bob Menendez (N.J.), have expressed opposition to the deal. Still, Obama on Tuesday rallied 42 votes of support for the agreement in the Senate, which means he will sidestep having to veto a resolution rejecting the deal.
Daines informed voters Tuesday that the deal isn’t the "only option" to disable Iran’s nuclear program. He pointed to increased sanctions against the country as the "best path forward to weakening Iran."
"Keep the crippling sanctions in place. Make sanctions worse," Daines said. "Iran needs this deal more than we do, and we should have negotiated from a position of strength."
He also cited comments from Secretary of State John Kerry, who has defended the agreement amid public opposition, to back up his warnings about the nuclear deal finalized in Vienna on July 14.
"I strongly believe we can do better," Daines remarked. "As Secretary of State John Kerry has previously said, ‘No deal is better than a bad deal.’"
Only 21 percent of Americans currently support the deal, according to data released by the Pew Research Center Tuesday. Only two percent have "great confidence" that Iran’s leaders will abide by the stipulations in the agreement.
At the end of the call, a female voter asked Daines, "Why are we making a pact with the devil?"
"I ask myself the same question," he responded.