Moulton says Iran deal the best option

MARBLEHEAD – Cong. Seth Moulton said Friday in front of a largely skeptical audience at Temple Emanu-El that while he doesn’t think the nuclear arms treaty recently negotiated with Iran is a great deal, he can’t see a better alternative.The pews inside the temple were filled to capacity and extra chairs had to be brought in to accommodate the people who came to see Moulton speak. Many of them wore, and handed out, T-shirts and buttons that said “America can do better – we need a better deal #BadIranDeal.””My position is that this is not a great deal but it’s better than the alternative,” he said. The unfavorable alternatives to prevent Iran for obtaining a bomb, he said, would be “immediate military action or to return to the negotiating table somehow.”You won’t find many folks out there advocating to go to war,” he said. “I haven’t seen a single T-shirt that says we should go to war. However, there is a showing of support for the idea that we could get a better deal.”The reality of the situation is that the sanctions that have been effective in bringing Iran around the table are about to fall apart,” he said, adding that experts he’s spoken with feel that any further sanctions wouldn’t be as effective as the ones in place now.Moulton said more sanctions would create less leverage to make a deal in the future.”We use leverage,” he said. “If we want a better deal, how are we going to get more leverage?”He admitted that he didn’t agree that this was the best possible deal, but going back to the negotiating table wasn’t much of an option. Demanding other things in the deal would have watered down their stance on restricting nuclear weapons, he said.Others were given the opportunity to speak and ask Moulton questions, including Rabbi David Cohen-Henriquez of Temple Sinai, who was concerned about sending money to Iran.”Nobody is talking about the money,” he said. “The money is going to go to the crazies!”Others in the audience shared the same fear. One woman voiced a concern that giving Iran money and having a loophole in the deal would mean a nuclear weapon could be manufactured even sooner.Moulton responded, saying that “the money is going to flow to them anyway.””This money that will flow to Iran – and therefore they will be free to distribute it as they see fit – is a very valid concern,” he said. “I share that concern with you.”The reality of it is that that money is going to flow to the Iranians anyway when the sanctions fall apart,” he said. “The only reason the sanctions have worked is because there has been an international coalition.”If sanctions fall apart, and the money goes to Iran anyway, but we don’t have any other restrictions on a nuclear program that are included in the deal,” he said, “then we’re in a much worse position.”Iran, despite this deal, remains a threat to the United States and for our allies across the world,” Moulton said.Moulton caused a stir in the crowd when he quoted a national poll by CNN that determined that in general, more educated people support the deal and less educated people don’t.”I didn’t mean to offend anyone by using the results of the CNN poll,” he said.A few people in attendance also became restless as he was wrapping up, standing and yelling out their opinions. Two men began to argue, comparing military experience before Rabbi David Meyer of Temple Emanu-El brought the meeting back on track.For the most part, the crowd respectfully engaged in a question and answer conversation with Moulton.”We share the same goals,” Moulton said. “A peace for the middle east, a strong United States and state of Israel, and the ensurance that Iran does not have a nuclear bomb.”I would love to have a better deal but I don’t believe there is a viable option for us to do so,” he said.”My position is different than the president’s,” he said. “The president’s position is that this is a good deal and it’s better than the alternative. My position is that it’s not a good deal but it is better than the alter