Obama Criticized for Comment Comparing Republicans to Iran Radicals

US President Barack Obama should retract his statement comparing Republican Party members of Congress with anti-US radicals in Iran, US Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Wednesday, US President Barack Obama, in a speech at the American University in Washington, said that the Republican caucus and Iranian hardliners who chant “Death to America” are “making common cause,” as both oppose the nuclear deal between Iran and the group of international negotiators.

"The President needs to retract his bizarre and preposterous comments, and both supporters and defenders of the President’s deal with Iran should reject this offensive rhetoric,” McConnell said on Wednesday.

The ranking Republican added that members of both the Democratic and Republican parties have concerns about the deal with Tehran.

“These Democrats and Republicans deserved serious answers today, not some outrageous attempt to equate their search for answers with supporting chants of ‘Death to America,’” he stressed.

On June 14, Iran and the P5+1 group of countries — the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom plus Germany — signed a comprehensive agreement on Tehran's nuclear program. According to the document, Iran will under no circumstances seek to develop or acquire a nuclear weapon and, in exchange, will receive sanctions relief.

The Republican Party-controlled US Congress has until September 17 to reject the deal, a decision that, regardless, can be vetoed by the US president. In July, the Republicans introduced a resolution condemning the nuclear agreement with Iran, which was supported by171 members, or about two-thirds of House Republicans.