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Dem Senator: 'We Didn't End Iran's Nuclear Program, We Actually Preserved It'

August 6, 2015

Sen. Bob Menendez (D., N.J.) said Thursday that the Iran nuclear agreement doesn’t end Iran’s nuclear program, but instead preserves it.

When MSNBC host José-Díaz Balart asked Menendez on where he stood on the Iran deal, Menendez said he had not decided but it looked unlikely that he would back President Obama.

"I’ve been to so many hearings, classified briefings, independent briefings and I have serious reservations," Menendez said. "And I will be deciding. I’ll be going back to New Jersey, listening to constituents and then I will come to a conclusion."

However, Menendez said he had serious reservations about the deal.

"Those serious reservations, I have tried to have them assuaged. And what I see is we didn't end Iran’s nuclear program, we actually preserved it," Menendez said. "And in time, they will have the option if they choose to ultimately move towards a nuclear weapon and our choices then will even be more limited than they are today."

Menendez said unless he gets answers to his questions he is not sure how he can support the agreement.

"Unless in the short period of time I get answers to some of these serious questions, I’m not quite sure how it's possible to be supportive of the agreement," Menendez said.