Colin Powell comes out in support of Iran nuclear deal

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Secretary of State and retired four-star general Colin Powell expressed support for the Iran nuclear deal on Sunday, dismissing fears among Republican lawmakers who unanimously oppose such an agreement.

Speaking on NBC's "Meet the Press," Powell said he had studied the outline of the accord and weighed the arguments of those opposed and those in favor of it, concluding it was "a pretty good deal."

"One of the great concerns that the opposition has -- that we are leaving open a lane for the Iranians to go back to creating a nuclear weapons in 10 or 15 years -- is forgetting the reality that they have been on a superhighway, for the last 10 years, to create a nuclear weapon or a nuclear weapons program, with no speed limit," Powell said.

He noted Iran's vow to drastically reduce its uranium stockpiles and centrifuges and shut down its plutonium reactor were "remarkable changes."

Powell added that Iran would get nothing until they showed compliance and that he thought "a very vigorous verification regime has been put into place."

Powell's comments come as Congress prepares to vote on the agreement. While unanimously opposed by Republican lawmakers, the accord has the support of 34 Democratic senators, enabling the White House the senate votes needed to override a veto in the House.

The House will vote on the agreement Friday, and the Senate is expected to follow suit on Sept. 17.

Powell -- who served as National Security Adviser under Ronald Reagan, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under George H.W. Bush and Secretary of State under George W. Bush -- noted opposition from his Republican colleagues was a moot point in the face of support from the P5+1 nations, which include Britain, Germany, France, Russia and China.

"Even if we were to kill the deal -- which is not going to happen -- it's going to take effect anyway, because all of these other countries that were in it with us are going to move forward," he said. "They're all going to be moving forward -- we're going to be sitting on the sidelines."