The framework for the nuclear deal struck between the U.S. and other western countries "commits Israel on a path to war" with Tehran, Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk told Politico Thursday following the announcement that a deal had been reached.
"There's nothing for Iranians to do but go at breakneck speed to a nuclear weapon," Kirk said.
"We're moving straight to forcing Israel to clean up this mess … when the West does nothing, Israel over and over has done something."
The U.S., Kirk added, "shouldn't force our best ally in the region to clean up the mess."
Kirk heaped criticism on the deal negotiated by Secretary of State John Kerry and other top Obama administration officials, predicting to Politico that it would end with "a mushroom cloud somewhere near Tehran," referring to a nuclear test.
Kirk has been a vocal advocate of imposing additional sanctions on Iran and during a speech Thursday in Chicago, following President Barack Obama's framework nuclear agreement, Kirk characterized the deal as "a total cave," by the administration, according to
the Chicago Tribune.
"A complete lifting of sanctions will return Iran to a position where its economy is actually growing faster than the American economy," he told the newspaper.
The proposed deal is so weak, according to Kirk, that "Neville Chamberlain got a lot of more out of Hitler than [State Department negotiator] Wendy Sherman got out of Iran," he told Politico, referring to the British prime minister known for his appeasement foreign policy.
After some two years of negotiations, the framework was reached at the 11th hour on Thursday. The deadline for a final deal is June 30.
According to
Bloomberg News, the agreement sets a schedule for Iran's enrichment of uranium, limits it to a single site and dictates that Tehran would allow international monitoring for the next 25 years.
It also extends to more than a year the breakout period needed by Iran to obtain nuclear weapons, Bloomberg reports, in addition to the lifting of economic sanctions
— after inspectors confirm Iran's compliance
— by the U.S. and the European Union.
Kirk said there was nothing to like about the deal, adding that it allows Iran to expedite its nuclear weapons production, which could then "end up in the hands of Iranian-backed rebels throughout the Middle East, including Yemen."
The New York Times reported that the accord calls for Iran to cut by two-thirds the number of operating centrifuges as well as reduce its current stockpile of low-enriched uranium from around 10,000 kilograms to 300 for 15 years.
The deal also calls for inspections "anywhere in the country," though American officials conceded that a detailed mechanism has not been developed to "resolve disputes."
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