Supporting deal, Sen. Casey says Iran is far too close to a nuclear weapon right now

JUDY WOODRUFF:

But, first, President Obama now is one Senate vote away from clinching the Iran nuclear deal. Opponents need 67 votes to block the agreement. That's enough votes to override an expected presidential veto. To win out, the president therefore needs 34 votes.

Today, his total reached 33, thanks to the support of two Senate Democrats, Chris Coons of Delaware and Bob Casey of Pennsylvania. The controversial accord aims to restrict Iran's nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

Senator Casey joins us now from Capitol Hill.

Senator Casey, thank you for being here.

This deal has been the subject of millions of dollars worth of negative advertising, a lobbying campaign. You have spent a lot of months looking at it. Why the decision to support it?

SEN. BOB CASEY (D), Pennsylvania: Well, Judy, fundamentally, the decision was because you have to decide up or down on this agreement as it relates to the basic question of how do we stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, short term and long term, short term because they are just two to three months from so-called breakout, having enough fissile material for a bomb.

So that weighed on me heavily. What's the best way to do that? You either have to vote for the agreement or vote against it. I think voting for it is in furtherance of the goal of preventing them from getting a nuclear weapon.

There are other reasons as well that I can outline, some of them involving the constraints that are put on this — the Iran nuclear program for the long term. But, principally, you get back to that basic question about stopping them from developing a nuclear weapon.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

For how long?

SEN. BOB CASEY:

Well, certainly, even the opponents would concede that that ability to constrain their program goes for a decade, if not longer.

And after a decade, even after the constraints begin to be lifted, what Iran is supposed to do at that point is, if they choose to, to develop a civilian nuclear program for nuclear power. If they do something other than that and take steps to develop a nuclear weapon, then we have a whole range of options

And one of the reasons I spent so much time on the deterrence issue is because of my concerns about the out-years.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

Well, let me ask you about another argument that was made. Last night, Gwen on the NewsHour interviewed Stephen Rademaker. He's a former U.S. arms controls negotiator.

And, among other things, he said experts have said for decades that if Iran is allowed to become a threshold nuclear weapons state, that will stimulate what he called a cascade of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, that as soon as Iran has this capability, that other states are going to want to join and have the exact same ability.

SEN. BOB CASEY:

Well, I think we're at now — Judy, we're at a point where they are a threshold nuclear state right now. They are two to three months from having enough fissile material to get a bomb.

Step two after fissile material is getting the device made, and then weaponizing it. So they are far too close right now. And what we don't want to have is the worst of all worlds, where we walk away from this substantial effort that we have led for years, telling everyone in our coalition to make sacrifices and impose sanctions and live by those sanctions and put pressure on Iran, then we walk away, if the deal were not voted in favor of.

We walk away. Then the interim agreement falls, so there is virtually no lights on their program, no surveillance, the inspectors go. And all the while, going forward, they would get sanctions relief from other countries in a sense. So the worst of all worlds is they have a stronger economy because of some of that sanctions relief, plus that they're very close to developing a nuclear weapon or even have one, and then you have the worst of all worlds.

That's the fastest way to greater danger and I think proliferation in the region.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

How hard was it to go against the — again, the fierce Israeli argument, the argument by Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu, that this threatens Israel's existence?

SEN. BOB CASEY:

Well, I — from the very beginning and throughout my eight-and-a-half years in the Senate, I have worked very hard to make sure that we take steps to secure Israel.

And, ultimately, the backstop or the fortification for this agreement and for Israel's security is our own capability. We're the only country in the world that has the military capability to take out Iran's program today, tomorrow and into the future. That's the ultimate backstop for Israel.

I think there is a perfect alignment between what we should do for our own security and ensuring the security of Israel. I don't think they are discordant in any way. I believe the agreement enhances our national security and also enhances the security of Israel and the region.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

I just finally want to ask you about — and very quickly — as we reported earlier, Democrats supporting the president are now just one vote away from having enough votes to block an attempt to override a presidential veto, should it come to that.

Any doubt in your mind now that supporters are going to get those additional — that additional vote?

SEN. BOB CASEY:

I would be very surprised if that vote wasn't forthcoming. I don't know the exact numbers or what remaining — how remaining senators will vote. But I think, if I had to make an educated guess, I would say we have enough votes to sustain a veto.

JUDY WOODRUFF:

Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, we thank you very much.

SEN. BOB CASEY:

Thank you, Judy.