Obama top adviser: Bad Iran nuclear deal is worse than no deal

National Security Adviser Susan Rice speaks at the Brookings Institution to outline President Barack Obama’s foreign policy priorities, Friday, Feb. 6, 2015, in Washington. President Barack Obama says the US must resist the urge to "overreach" abroad, as he outlined a new national security strategy Friday that is meant to serve as a blueprint for his final two years in office. The 29-page document hews closely to Obama's long-held views of America's role in the world and forecasts no major shifts in the military campaign against Islamic State militants or in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Beyond those immediate concerns, he also calls for an increased focus on boosting cybersecurity, combating climate change and promoting gay rights around the world.  (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

US National Security Adviser Susan Rice speaks at the Brookings Institution to outline President Barack Obama’s foreign policy priorities, Friday, Feb. 6, 2015, in Washington.  AP

WASHINGTON, United States — President Barack Obama’s national security adviser says a bad nuclear deal with Iran is worse than no deal at all.

Susan Rice is speaking to the annual meeting of the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC. Her speech comes a day before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to argue against U.S. nuclear talks with Iran during an address to Congress.

Modifying a quote used by President Ronald Reagan, Rice says the U.S. approach to Iran is “distrust, but verify.” She says any U.S. deal must verifiably cut off any pathway for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.

Rice peppered her remarks to AIPAC with frequent phrases in Hebrew.

Ahead of Rice’s speech, a prominent rabbi ran a full-page ad in The New York Times accusing her of being a bystander to genocide.

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