But Committee Chairman Bob Corker, a Tennesse Republican, said that the U.S. had been “fleeced” and that Kerry had “turned Iran from being a pariah, to now Congress being a pariah” in the course of making the agreement.
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Accompanying Kerry at the hearing were Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, who said that the accord is not based on mere trust but rather on “science” and “analysis”.
But Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters the kingdom has been reassured by Washington while consultations continue about the deal, which he said stipulates effective inspections, including of military sites, and the possibility of snap-back sanctions if Iran violates the agreement. Republican leaders have criticized the deal, even as the Obama administration is working to sell it to the public and on Capitol Hill.
Cardin is one of many Democrats who have not yet decided how they would vote on the deal.
The deal, which ended a 13-year standoff, requires Iran to curb its nuclear capabilities including the number of uranium centrifuges.
“I’m not a math expert, but I think there are like 70 days between now and the end of the fiscal year”, Mr. Earnest said.
The chairman told Kerry he couldn’t have it both ways.
However, under questioning from Sen. Kerry bristled and asked Corker if the senator would rather respond for him.
Senator Marco Rubio faulted President Barack Obama for striking a “terrible deal”, saying it rewarded Iran for “its atrocious human rights record”. “This deal is fundamentally and irreparably flawed”, Sen.
The administration keep claiming it wasn’t trying to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program.
In Washington, Kerry told sceptical lawmakers that rejection of the accord would give Tehran “a great big green light” to accelerate its atomic program.
The Obama administration’s all-out lobbying effort to convince sceptical lawmakers to support the Iran nuclear deal ahead of a likely congressional vote in September faced an uphill battle on Thursday.
Iran and six other countries – Britain, China, France, Russia, Germany and the United States reached the agreement last week.
Kerry said rejection of the deal would cause Iran to rush to develop a bomb, unrestricted, and divide the U.S. and allies who would oppose new sanctions. In one of the hearing’s more heated exchanges, New Jersery Democratic Sen.
Kerry said that when the negotiations began, experts calculated that it would take Iran only two to three months to produce enough material for a bomb, the so-called breakout time. There could be nothing more damaging to U.S. credibility than a deal that caves on each and every red line this, the previous president and the worldwide community drew. “I look at the things that they need to do, the way it’s laid out, and I don’t think you could more perfectly lay it out”, Corker said. “I mean, it’s a question of how do you hold their program back?” Christopher Coons, D-Del., said during the hearing.
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Now it’s Congress’ turn to assess the deal and pass judgement, he acknowledged.
