WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (UPI) -- President Obama underestimated the state of security regarding Iran and the Middle East during his State of the Union address, U.S. congressmen said.
"Because of the extraordinary troops and civilians who risk and lay down their lives to keep us free, the United States is more secure," the president said in his annual address to the nation Tuesday.
Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Obama downplayed the severity of the security situation overseas.
"Much of the Middle East, North Africa and central Asia is in chaos" Royce said in response Obama's address. "The terrorist threat has evolved and spread. Saying we are more secure, as the president did, doesn't make it so."
Obama, however, added that he recognized the terrorist threat overseas was still present.
"While we have put al-Qaida's core leadership on a path to defeat, the threat has evolved," he said. "We have to remain vigilant."
Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., a member of the House committee, shared Royce's concerns about nuclear agreements with Iran, which the president said were "unprecedented" in their scope.
"Unfortunately, the president overstated the concessions made by Iran in the recent agreement," Sherman said.
Sherman, often critical of Iran, says Iran still can develop its nuclear program, albeit at lower levels, during the six-month course of a multilateral nuclear deal.
