Obama, Biden Work to Sell Iran Nuclear Deal
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Pete Souza / The White House(WASHINGTON) — President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and key members of the White House national security team worked the phones Friday in an aggressive push to personally sell the Iran deal, the White House says.
Members of the national security team are calling members of Congress and leaders around the world, reviewing details of the plan and reiterating Obama’s argument for why it’s the best option, reassuring nervous allies and rebutting key points of criticism raised by skeptics.
Obama spoke with all four congressional leaders on Thursday and placed half a dozen world leader calls, including what an official described as a “frosty” chat with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu.
A White House spokesman said on Friday that many more calls are happening. The president has already spoken with France’s Francois Hollande, Britain’s David Cameron, Angela Merkel of Germany, and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Administration officials also made a point of saying it planned to reach out to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee.
National Security Adviser Susan Rice and Secretary of State John Kerry are among those placing calls.
As for the mood in the White House: “It feels good,” deputy spokesman Eric Schultz told reporters on Air Force One, “that we were able to strike a historic deal and eliminate Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon.” He conceded there is still “a lot more work to do” before June 30.
Schultz declined to assess the odds that a final deal will be signed by June 30. He said the “50-50” odds the administration has discussed in recent weeks applied to a political deal, which has now been reached.
The next round of talks however remains an open question.
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