Iran Deal Divides Ossoff, Handel
In a rare appearance at the same event, the 6th District candidates speak to the Jewish War Veterans.
Congressional candidates Jon Ossoff and Karen Handel offered conflicting views of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal Sunday, May 21, even while agreeing on the need for a hard line against the Tehran regime’s aggression in the Middle East.
The 6th District rivals appeared separately at the monthly breakfast meeting of Jewish War Veterans Post 112 in Dunwoody about the time President Donald Trump was speaking in Saudi Arabia about the necessity of isolating terrorist-financing, destabilizing Iran.
Handel, a Republican, said Iran was the only nation to benefit from the deal the Obama administration and its international partners negotiated with Iran in 2015. That deal dropped economic sanctions and unfroze overseas Iranian assets to get Iran to halt work toward nuclear weapons.
“We should strictly and uncompromisingly monitor Iran’s compliance” through International Atomic Energy Agency inspections and U.S. intelligence capabilities, Democrat Ossoff said. “If Iran in any way violates the agreement, we should immediately impose harsh sanctions to punish the government of Iran.”
He called for imposing “swift, biting sanctions” if Iran tests ballistic missiles in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions. But he’s against sending more troops to the Middle East.
Trump during the presidential campaign criticized the Iran deal and the limited U.S. response to Iranian missile tests, support for terrorists and aggression in the Middle East, but he has done nothing to undo the nuclear deal.
Speaking in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, before flying to Israel, he singled out Iran for criticism. He said Iran gives terrorists safe harbor, money and the social standing to boost recruitment.
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