Boehner hopes there’s no Iran nuclear deal

The leader of the US House of Representatives says he hopes the White House fails to reach a final agreement with Iran over its nuclear energy program.

US House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, said on Friday that the administration of President Barack Obama wants a nuclear deal with Iran at “any cost.”

"It just appears to me that the administration wants a deal at almost any cost," Boehner told the Fox Business Channel. "That's a bad way to negotiate.”

The speaker, a frequent critic of Obama's policies, said he doubts the US and P5+1 group of countries can secure "a real agreement" with Tehran. "I would hope not," he said when asked if he thinks there will be a final agreement.

Iran and P5+1 group of countries - the US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany - reached a mutual understanding on Tehran’s nuclear program on April 2 in Switzerland. The two sides are expected to start drafting a final deal which they seek to sign by the end of June.

"I've never been optimistic that we'd get to an agreement, a real agreement that would stop the nuclear threat from Iran," Boehner said, "and I don't think the Iranians have any intention of giving up their desire for a nuclear weapon [sic]."

Rightwing elements in the Republican Party along with Israel and some of their allies accuse Iran of pursuing military objectives in its civilian nuclear program. Iran rejects the allegation, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Boehner invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress on March 3 about the Iran nuclear negotiations. Netanyahu ranted for nearly 40 minutes against the talks, warning Washington that it was negotiating a “bad deal” with the Islamic Republic.

Boehner’s invitation was extended without consultation with the White House, drawing angry reaction from the Obama administration, which called it a breach of protocol.

A new poll finds that Americans self-identifying as Republicans place Israel's interests ahead of America's and feel more sympathetic to Netanyahu than to their own president.

Republicans by a ratio of more than 2-to-1 say the US should support Israel even when its policies are in contrast with US interests, according to the Bloomberg poll.

AHT/GJH

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