Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry issued a statement Wednesday encouraging President Obama to abandon nuclear negotiations with Iran for fear that a deal could start a Middle East arms race.
"In reckless pursuit of any agreement, President Obama has conceded point after point after point," Perry said. "Iran has used deadlines and extensions as a tactic for eliciting still more concessions from the U.S. We are well past the time where further concessions are tolerable if we still intend to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapons capability rather than manage its breakout time."
It read in full:
"Yesterday the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, stated that Iran would not accept a freeze on research and development of its nuclear program. He reiterated his requirement to lift sanctions immediately upon signing a deal. These statements come just days after the Ayatollah and the Iranian parliament again refused the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections of Iranian military sites. This is consistent with a long pattern of Iran stonewalling the IAEA. The hard truth, which President Obama consistently refuses to see, is that sinceApril 2 the Iranians have rejected the parameters for a joint framework and they continue to reject the only rationale for negotiations: ending their nuclear weapons program in exchange for the easing of sanctions and diplomatic isolation.
"In reckless pursuit of any agreement, President Obama has conceded point after point after point. Iran has used deadlines and extensions as a tactic for eliciting still more concessions from the U.S. We are well past the time where further concessions are tolerable if we still intend to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapons capability rather than manage its breakout time. This agreement is shaping up to spark a nuclear arms race in the Middle East and increase the odds of a devastating and catastrophic military conflict in the future. President Obama should abandon these dangerous negotiations and resume international sanctions until Iran understands and accepts that they cannot have a nuclear weapon."
Perry is pursuing the 2016 Republican nomination for president.