“The reality is that Iran now has in depth expertise with nuclear gasoline cycle know-how”, Kerry informed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “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. Secretary of State John Kerry, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew sought to dispel concerns and misinformation about the agreement during their testimony before the committee, which lasted more than four hours.
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Congress can pass a motion of disapproval, but President Barack Obama can then veto that.
Although Himes said he was still in the process of weighing the deal, he appeared to side with the administration’s rationale and put the onus on sceptics to justify their opposition.
He says, “The deal is based on science and analysis”.
Rouhani rejected such doubts.
“This is a new page in history”, he told a medical conference broadcast live on television. “I hope the House and Senate will not veto the agreement that has been negotiated”.
Kerry told Corker that he apparently believed in some “sort of unicorn arrangement involving Iran’s complete capitulation”.
“That’s good but what has happened is more valuable and more significant than that”, he said.
Responding to criticism that the settlement lifts sanctions too quick, Lew stated it might not forestall the USA from imposing further sanctions over points akin to human rights violations if deemed needed.
Iran’s procedures for ratifying the accord are not known in any detail. Howard Kohr, executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, has launched a major campaign to persuade Congress to reject the deal.
He said Senator Ted Cruz of Texas was among the GOP candidates who have suggested they would be ready to launch an immediate military strike on Iran if they were elected president next year. “Sarbanes also cautioned, “it would be a mistake for the Administration to dismiss these developments as mere rhetoric”, observing that “[u]nfettered inspections and verification are the only means” by which Iran’s compliance with the deal can be achieved. Bob Corker of Tennessee and other Republicans spoke scornfully of the administration’s claim that the only alternative to the deal that was reached was a war with Iran. Now he is making it clear that he does not trust the Obama administration’s negotiations with Iran either. The deal leaves UN restrictions on missiles and weapons in place for several years.
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. Moniz said environmental sampling would detect radioactive traces, even if Iran tries to clean or remove equipment during the delay.
The more he hears about it, the more “disappointed” he is, he said Thursday.
They agreed to strengthen the cooperation between their countries in this new context.
Hollande “expressed the wish for Iran to contribute positively to the resolution of crises in the Middle East”, it added.
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French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius is to visit Iran next Wednesday. Ben Cardin, followed with his own skepticism of the deal, but with much softer language.
