[Barack Obama, President Of The United States:] The nuclear deal that we've put together is not based on the idea that somehow the regime changes. It is a good deal, even if Iran doesn't change at all.
[Cuomo:] Even if. The president of the United States there arguing in the alternative: even if you don't like this deal the way it is, even if that's true, you're still going to like it better than any alternative. That's his interview with "The New York Times." The president is starting to push to get skeptics on board with the Iran deal. But the biggest skeptics of all, of course, Israel. And they seem thoroughly unmoved, as personified by their prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has said Netanyahu, who has said here and there that this deal makes their situation worse. Joining us this morning to discuss, Peter Beinart, CNN political commentator and contributing editor for Atlantic Media; and Hillary Mann-Leverett, the co-author of "Going to Tehran: Why America Must Accept the Islamic Republic of Tehran [SIC]." And I set the table with this, Peter and Hillary. Here is Senator Feinstein with her rebuttal to Netanyahu.
[Sen. Dianne Feinstein , California:] Well, I think he's said what he's had to say; and to be candid with you, this can backfire on him. And I wish that he would contain himself, because he has put out no real alternative. In his speech to the Congress, no real alternative. Since then, no real alternative.
[Cuomo:] Well, the president can't say it, Hillary. But does it help the president's cause for the senator, the senior senator, to get up there and say, "He should just contain himself and be quiet. We heard what he has to say. He's got no better deal. This is as good as it gets"?
[Hillary Mann-leverett, Co-author, "going To Tehran":] It's critically important for her to make that kind of argument. We have seen for 20 years, too few people challenge Prime Minister Netanyahu. He goaded us into a false war in Iraq. They sold us a false bill of good, Prime Minister Netanyahu and his supporters here in Washington, a false bill of goods that Iraq had nuclear weapons, and we had to invade Iraq and overthrow that government. Similarly, he's been selling us a false set of goods about Iran for 20 years. What he's desperately afraid of is there may be a neutral monitoring mechanism set up where we don't need to turn to or we're not vulnerable to his set of false facts. That's what he's afraid of. He's afraid we may actually develop a relationship with the Islamic Republic of Iran where we hear from them directly: from their foreign minister, from the head of their atomic energy program directly. We have our own eyes and ears on the ground.
[Cuomo:] All right.
[Mann-leverett:] And we can make our own decisions. He's desperate to prevent that.
[Cuomo:] Peter, false facts, doesn't the main fact and the only fact that matters to Israel is that Iran keeps saying it wants to destroy them and that this is not an "if" but a "when" deal, so eventually they may get a nuke? And they may just get away with it anyway, because they're sneaky? And shouldn't Israel be of the most high level of concern?
[Peter Beinart, Cnn Political Commentator:] Well, but the interesting thing is if you actually look at the debate inside Israel since Thursday's deal, it's not that everyone is as negative as Benjamin Netanyahu. In fact, there have been pretty prominent Israeli security figures, like Emud Siablin, for instance, who was the chief foreign affairs kind of adviser to the to Hertzog, the opponent, who basically said this deal actually isn't so bad for Israel. And I think Dianne Feinstein's most critical point is what is the alternative? Even if you believe that this deal is not perfect from Israel and America's point of view, Netanyahu's logic is that America can increase the pressure and get a better deal. What that misunderstands is that, even if America increases sanctions, if the U.S. walks away from this deal, the rest of the world is likely to start to unravel their sanctions. Once China, for instance, starts importing a lot more Iranian oil, something they've been restrained in doing, that will counteract the effect of U.S. sanctions. And pressure won't go up on Iran; it will go down, which will mean our chances of getting a better deal will be virtually impossible.
[Cuomo:] All right. On the other side, Netanyahu says, "I just got reelected. I have this huge mandate. What do you mean people don't accept my view? This what they want." And we don't know whether or not we've squeezed Iran enough, Hillary. And that's why I'm directing this question to you, because you love it. Because we only did, two, three years of really harsh sanctions. Let's try more of that and get all the allies to do that. And then we'll see what Iran really wants to put on the table. Fair point?
[Mann-leverett:] Well, you know, he peddled the same case about Iraq, where we also needed to impose crippling sanctions on Iraq, which killed half a million Iraqis, half of them children. Even then it didn't work to change Saddam Hussein's calculation on his nuclear program. So that's a you know, that's a really dangerous trajectory for us to go on. But I think this narrative about Israel is important. Because we're going to hear it over and over and over again. And even though it's very hard for Americans to take in, Iran has not said, has not threatened to attack Israel or to wipe Israel off the map. That has been distorted extremely out of context. But what Iran has a problem with, with Israel, and we're going to see this now in the spotlight with Netanyahu and his policies in his new government, is they see the Israeli government as what they see it as, an apartheid government that cannot last. That it is on a trajectory eventually to be one state with one person and one vote. Now many people here don't like that, but it's very different from a threat to attack Israel.
[Cuomo:] But Hillary...
[Mann-leverett:] And what we're going to see, while Benjamin Netanyahu makes his argument, he is going to be making Iran's arguments for them. That's what we're going to see more and more in the spotlight.
[Cuomo:] But the president is never going to convince Congress that Iran is not a threat to Israel.
[Mann-leverett:] Exactly.
[Cuomo:] And when Netanyahu came here, it mattered to Democrats and Republicans. Last word, Peter Beinart, you guys seem to think that this is pretty easy for the president to get this deal done, as you two are articulating it. What do you think happens with Congress? Because they don't seem as accepting as you two do.
[Beinart:] No, I don't think it's I don't think it's easy at all. And I think Iran's very, very aggressive, bellicose rhetoric against Israel makes it a lot harder. But I think at the end of the day, one of the ways in which Netanyahu, who has shot himself in the foot, is he has made this so partisan that, remember, the Republicans can't defeat this deal without a significant amount of Democratic support. And I think by making this such a partisan issue, Benjamin Netanyahu has actually made it easier for Barack Obama to keep the Democrats he needs on board.
[Cuomo:] Peter Beinart, Hillary Mann-Leverett, thank you very much. Appreciate having you on the show, as always Alisyn.
[Mann-leverett:] Thank you.
[Camerota:] OK, Chris, Rand Paul promising to be a different kind of Republican leader. He's expected to jump into the race soon. Will he shake up the GOP? Details ahead on "Inside Politics."