Thousands of opponents of the Iran nuclear deal turned out Wednesday for a rally in Washington, D.C., in a show of opposition to an agreement that has ignited a contentious, national debate over security and now has enough support among lawmakers to pass. Headlining the event were high-profile conservative figures, including real-estate tycoon and GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.
"I’ve been doing deals for a long time, I’ve been making lots of wonderful deals, great deals, that’s what I do," Trump said. "Never, ever, ever in my life have I seen any transaction so incompetently negotiated as our deal with Iran -- and I mean never."
Trump and other speakers criticized the deal as emboldening Iran's leadership, which he said was a regional threat. Trump also charged Iranian leaders with making contradictory and hateful statements about the U.S. "We are led by very, very stupid people... We cannot let it continue," Trump said, speaking of those who negotiated and have supported the deal.
Palin likened the lifting of sanctions to rewarding bad behavior. "The whole premise of this thing, it’s wrong," she said. "We’re negotiating with the braggadocios number 1 state sponsor of terrorism. Obama never even clenched a fist against a wicked regime where anti-Semitism and holocaust denial is state-sanctioned ideology."
.@realdonaldtrump speaks at Tea Party Rally on #IranDeal – LIVE on C-SPAN2 http://t.co/X4dNLO1fVq pic.twitter.com/MJF0Guzdm8
— CSPAN (@cspan) September 9, 2015
The rally, sponsored by Tea Party Patriots and the Zionist Organization of America, comes following news that President Barack Obama had secured enough support in the Senate to block opponents from shooting down the agreement. Republicans in Congress have come out heavily opposed to the deal, which was negotiated between Iran, the U.S. and five other world powers. The agreement has also faced heavy criticism by pro-Israel Jewish advocacy groups, evangelical Christians and others.
Organizers and speakers at the rally, held on the West Lawn of the Capitol, said they hoped to galvanize enough opposition to the agreement to pressure lawmakers to rethink their votes in the coming days. “It is my hope and prayer that every one of those Senate Democrats reconsiders, that they go home and they fall to their knees and they pray tonight," Cruz, also a GOP presidential candidate, said.
The deal would see crippling economic sanctions against Iran lifted in exchange for a commitment from Iran's government to abandon its nuclear program. Opponents have scrutinized details of the deal and have questioned Iran's willingness to comply with the terms of the agreement. They have also raised concerns over the lifting of international sanctions on Iran, alleging that the deal would empower Iran.
Awaiting the rally against #irandeal featuring @realDonaldTrump and @tedcruz. pic.twitter.com/MvFdPOZNOf
— MichaelMathes (@MichaelMathes) September 9, 2015
Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, who negotiated the agreement, have insisted the deal is based on unprecedented access to Iran's nuclear facilities – not trust – and have sought to assure skeptics Iran will be unable to develop a nuclear weapon. Obama has billed the accord "the most consequential foreign policy debate" since the vote to enter the war in Iraq in 2003.
