UANI Releases Statement Regarding Pew/USA TODAY Poll, Calls on White House to De-Politicize Iran Issue

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 10, 2013 
Contact: Nathan Carleton, [email protected] 
Phone: (212) 554-3296

UANI Releases Statement Regarding Pew/USA TODAY Poll, Calls on White House to De-Politicize Iran Issue

Americans Disapprove of Iran Agreement

New York, NY - United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) CEO, Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, issued the following statement today regarding the Pew Research Center/USA TODAY poll on the recent nuclear deal with Iran.

The poll shows that Americans disapprove of the interim agreement by a 43%-32% margin, with Republicans disapproving 58%-14%, Democrats approving 50%-27%, and Independents disapproving 47% - 29%.

Said Ambassador Wallace:

The results of the Pew poll show that only 32% of the American people approve of the interim agreement reached in Geneva last month. Americans' views are understandable, as the deal disproportionately grants Iran sanctions relief in exchange for measures that do not include the dismantling of even a single nuclear centrifuge.

The poll reveals that a partisan divide has emerged on the Iran issue, as Republicans and Independents are largely critical of the deal and Democrats largely in favor of it. Such politicization is of great concern to UANI given the historic bipartisanship on the issue.

President Obama, as Commander in Chief, must prevent growing partisanship in this area, and change the role the White House has played in fostering that partisanship. For the past month, the White House has repeatedly offered the false and demagogic narrative that anyone who opposes the interim deal is a warmonger. This includes multiple statements by the White House Press Secretary accusing the U.S. Congress of a "march to war" for considering new Iran sanctions.

The White House's actions are regrettable, and damaging to serious foreign policy discourse in this country. Addressing the Iranian threat was in fact one of the few issues that enjoyed wide bipartisan support in Congress -- new sanctions regularly passed both Houses by near-unanimous margins. And those supporters of sanctions were driven by the goal of preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon by using peaceful economic measures first and foremost. President Obama must call on his surrogates to stop their campaign-like treatment of this vital national security issue, and take seriously the concerns of Americans and U.S. allies who believe that Iran should be made to do much more before there is a lifting of sanctions.

Click here to read the PewResearch report, "Limited Support for Iran Nuclear Agreement."

###