Sen. Bob Menendez, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, condemned President Obama’s State of the Union talking points on Iran, characterizing them as coming “straight out of Tehran.”
“The more I hear from the administration and its quotes, the more it sounds like talking points that come straight out of Tehran,” the New Jersey senator said during a recent committee hearing. “And it feeds to the Iranian narrative of victimization, when they are the ones with the original sin.”
And just what was that original sin?
“An illicit nuclear weapons program going back over the course of 20 years that they are unwilling to come clean on,” Mr. Menendez said. “So I don’t know why we feel compelled to make their case when, in fact … they get to cheat in a series of ways and we get to worry about their perceptions.”
He made the criticisms on the heels of Mr. Obama’s promise to veto any legislation that comes to his desk that includes additional sanctions on Iran.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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