Sen. Cory Booker (D., N.J.) said the Iran nuclear deal was worth "celebrating" at a press conference Thursday while defending Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
A reporter asked Booker about New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s sharp criticism of Clinton’s role in the Iran nuclear deal during his address Tuesday night before the Republican National Convention.
"He is blaming somebody for something we should all be celebrating," Booker said. "Hillary Clinton helped to negotiate China, Russia, United Kingdom, France, a unified set of sanctions on Iran, which created an atmosphere which Iran was ready to negotiate. Now, whatever you think of the Iran deal, this is what I do know thanks to Secretary Clinton’s work. I met with [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu in January. Before this deal, the number one national security concern of Israel was Iran and how close they were to a nuclear weapon."
"Today, every one of their immediate pathways to a bomb has been closed off," Booker continued, "and that threat hanging over everything in the Middle East has now been removed. And so I don’t know who wants to blame her for unifying us with our allies and often our adversaries, if you’re talking about Russia, unifying all those folks in putting sanctions on Iran. That’s something that, to me, a person that can do that on the international stage, is someone that deserves praise."
Critics have said the Obama administration has been deceitful about various aspects of the nuclear agreement, while Iran has openly flouted the United Nations by conducting ballistic missile tests. A document recently uncovered by the Associated Press shows that key nuclear constraints on Iran will be lifted in a decade, halving Tehran’s breakout time to get a nuclear weapon.