Secretary of State John Kerry is too anxious to get a nuclear deal with Iran, says Sen. Richard Burr, which could end up creating a bad deal.
The North Carolina Republican chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, and told
"Face the Nation"on Sunday that the administration should push past the Tuesday deadline if necessary to ensure a better agreement.
"I would encourage the administration, let's take more time. Let's not hasten to a deal," Burr said. "I fear that Secretary Kerry believes that he's got to get a deal by Tuesday.
Iran, he added, doesn't appear in a hurry to conclude the talks. At the same time the Islamic State (ISIS) is now active in 12 countries while Iran is active financially or physically in nine countries.
"I think now is the time to push back from the table and ask ourselves, is it really time to trust the people that we're negotiating with, the Iranians?" he said.
Postponing, he said, is better than a bad deal.
Iran is partnering with the United States in Iraq, but is on opposite sides in the brewing civil war in Yemen. When Iraq asked for U.S. airstrikes against ISIS forces in Tikrit last week, parts of the Shia militia backed by Iran boycotted the fact that America was involved, Burr noted.
There was even conversation about shooting down U.S. aircraft or killing Americans, he said.
"These are the same people we're sitting at a table with saying we're going to trust them not to have nuclear proliferation," he said.
Even the Arab coalition fighting the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen are "bewildered" as to how the United States can consult with Iran considering how their troops in Iraq treat U.S. forces there, he said.
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