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HomeNEWSIRAN NEWSOpponents Step up Pressure as Iran Nuclear Deal Gains Momentum in Washington

Opponents Step up Pressure as Iran Nuclear Deal Gains Momentum in Washington

The Iran nuclear deal is taking center stage in the US presidential campaign as the pact gains steam on Capitol Hill and lawmakers prepare for what has been described as probably the most consequential foreign policy vote of their careers.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered a speech Wednesday in Washington on the deal. Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ted Cruz and other conservatives, including former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, took part in an anti-deal rally on the lawns of the Capitol.
The House, returning from summer recess, is expected to vote on a resolution of disapproval this week. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi of California, who is working hard to bolster support for the deal, has invited ambassadors from the other five nations in the agreement to talk Wednesday with House Democrats. They also are expected to meet with Secretary of State John Kerry, a lead negotiator of the accord.
It’s unclear exactly what’s going to happen in the Senate. As of Tuesday, 42 Democratic and independent senators had announced support of the deal — one more vote than needed to block passage of a resolution of disapproval.
What remains unclear is whether all 42 would vote to filibuster and thus prevent the resolution of disapproval from reaching the Senate floor altogether.
Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and an author of the legislation to allow Congress to review the deal, is adamant that the Senate vote on the merits of the deal.
“With 98 senators on the record voting in support of the legislation, I am very disappointed that some members on the other side of the aisle are reversing their positions and now are threatening to filibuster to keep the Senate from voting on this consequential agreement with Iran,” Corker said.
Although the wheels of Congress are turning in favor of the president, those opposed are launching an all-out push against the deal. Several hundred members of a pro-Israel lobby are to be at the Capitol to urge lawmakers to reject the deal with Iran, which has threatened to destroy the Jewish state.
The agreement struck by Iran, the U.S. and five other world powers in July will provide Iran hundreds of billions of dollars in relief from international sanctions in exchange for a decade of constraints on its nuclear program.

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