Christie calls on Booker to oppose Iran nuclear deal

 New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, surrounded by Jewish leaders, speaks out against the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran at Rutgers University. (Phil Gregory/WHYY)

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, surrounded by Jewish leaders, speaks out against the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran at Rutgers University. (Phil Gregory/WHYY)

Calling the Obama administration’s nuclear agreement with Iran a bad deal, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is urging the state’s congressional delegation to oppose it.

Christie, who has made foreign policy a centerpiece of his campaign for the Republican nomination for president, joined Jewish leaders at Rutgers University in New Brunswick in declaring the deal not in the interest of the United States.

He praised members of Congress who’ve already said they are against the agreement that calls for lifting billions of dollars in economic sanctions in return for limiting Iran’s nuclear program for at least a decade.

“For those who have not yet announced their position, particularly to my friend Sen. Cory Booker, this cannot be about politics and it cannot be about accepting that a bad deal is better than no deal,” Christie said.

  • WHYY thanks our sponsors — become a WHYY sponsor

Booker, the state’s junior senator, is still reviewing the agreement while U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez has said he’ll vote against it. Both are Democrats.

If the deal goes forward and he’s elected president, Christie vowed that he would end U.S. participation in the agreement.

“It is a bad deal. It is a deal that’s not of the interest of the people of the United States, and I think that folks in New Jersey have learned over the past six years that when I think something is a bad deal, I take action to try and change it.”

Opponents are attempting to assemble a veto-proof majority in the Senate to block the deal.

WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.

Want a digest of WHYY’s programs, events & stories? Sign up for our weekly newsletter.

Together we can reach 100% of WHYY’s fiscal year goal