Hillary Clinton told voters at a town hall meeting in Dover, New Hampshire, Thursday that she doesn’t "trust the Iranians" despite the fact that she touted the Iran nuclear deal as an "important step" just days before.
Reuters reported that the Democratic presidential candidate and former secretary of state admitted that opponents of the nuclear agreement announced Tuesday have a "respectable argument" against the deal.
"There are people on the other side of this whom I respect, who have said very clearly: ‘I can’t support it, I think it’s a mistake.’ They believe the Iranians will cheat," Clinton said in New Hampshire. "I think that is a respectable argument. However, I think it’s important to ask what are our alternatives."
"Do I trust the Iranians?" Clinton told the crowd. "Absolutely not."
On the day that President Obama formally announced the completion of the agreement, Clinton demonstrated her approval of the deal.
"I think this is an important step that puts the lid on Iran’s nuclear programs" she said on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
She also told Democratic members of the House in a closed-door meeting that the agreement is "worthy of support," according to lawmakers.
The deal, which Congress now has 60 days to review, would lift international sanctions on Iran while allowing the country to press on with crucial elements of its nuclear work, research, and development.
As a former secretary of state during the Obama administration, Hillary Clinton has been connected by many to the president’s foreign policy decisions and particularly those regarding the nuclear arms deal with Iran.
In a statement Wednesday, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus placed blame on Clinton for "put[ting] things in motion" for the agreement.
"She owes America an explanation," he demanded. "Why did she support negotiations that empowered Iran, and what would she do to prevent Iran from ever getting a nuclear weapon?"
A majority of U.S. voters do not trust Iran to hold to the stipulations of the deal. A poll conducted ahead of the deal announcement and released Tuesday by Monmouth University demonstrated that 55 percent of adults would not trust Iran at all to obey an agreement that would scale back the country’s nuclear program and grant independent inspections of its facilities.
Only 5 percent would place complete faith in the country to abide by the deal’s terms.