Republicans Formally Reject Iran Deal

Republicans Submit House Bill To Disapprove Of Iran Nuclear Deal


4 hours ago

RFE/RL

The Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee has introduced legislation to disapprove of the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers.

That draft legislation was submitted on August 4 after Representative Peter Roskam (Republican-Illinois) claimed the Republicans had enough votes to pass a bill disapproving of the deal in the lower chamber of the U.S. Congress.

But that support fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to overcome a likely veto by President Barack Obama.

Roskam said 218 of the House’s 434 current members had committed to voting against the treaty — all of them Republicans.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has said she expects enough Democrats will vote in fa
vor of the nuclear deal to sustain a presidential veto.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate’s Republican majority leader, Mitch McConnell, said on August 4 that the Senate would “in all likelihood” also consider a resolution of disapproval on the Iran nuclear agreement.

McConnell’s remarks came after three key senators from the Democratic Party announced their support for the nuclear accord with Iran that was agreed in Vienna on July 14 by the United States, Britain, France, Russia, and China plus Germany.

Senators Tim Kaine of Virginia, who co-authored the legislation giving Congress the right to review the deal, Barbara Boxer of California, a senior Jewish member of the Senate, and Bill Nelson of Florida all said they would back the deal.

Their support for the treaty means that even if the narrow Republican majority in the Senate passes their disapproval of the accord, they also would not be likely to muster the two-thirds majority needed to override a presidential veto.

In a Senate speech on August 4 announcing his decision, Nelson said, “If the U.S. walks away from this multinational agreement, I believe we would find ourselves alone in the world with little credibility.”

Nelson also said there was “no other available alternative” to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability for the next 10 to 15 years.

Boxer said a rejection of the deal would be “a victory for Iranian hard-liners and would accelerate their ability to obtain a nuclear weapon.”

Kaine said the deal disabled Iran’s nuclear program for “many years through peaceful diplomatic means with sufficient tools for the international community to verify whether Iran is meeting its commitments.”

Obama was due later on August 4 to hold a private meeting with Jewish leaders in a bid to rally their support for the nuclear deal.

Earlier in the day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu argued in a live webcast to Jewish Americans that the deal with Iran “will trigger a nuclear arms race in the region.”

Under the accord, Iran has agreed to significantly limit its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, TheHill.com, and Haaretz