US National Security Adviser Susan Rice speaks at the Brookings Institution to outline President Barack Obamas 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.