Share

Israel Pressing US Congress to Defeat Iran Nuclear Deal — Former Central Intelligence Agency Officer

On Tuesday, Obama warned that he would veto any legislation that seeks to block “the successful implementation of the deal”. This deal puts our close ally Israel in a box. Neither Pelosi nor Boehner ventured a prediction on the final outcome.

Advertisement

Jerusalem, July 17 (IANS) British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on Thursday met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, trying to reassure the latter that the Iran nuclear deal offers “robust measures” to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon.

Khamenei’s speech, which he gave to a large crowd in Tehran to mark the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, stressed that Iran will continue to support its allies in the Middle East, including the Lebanese Hezbollah, Palestinian resistance groups and the Syrian government.

But Kerry said he will travel to the Gulf to brief leaders on the hard-won accord.

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is set visit to Saudi Arabia next week to advance the discussions.

“There’s a reason this deal took so long to negotiate”, Obama continued. That’s where the promise of lifting oil and financial sanctions comes in – worldwide controls that have hurt Iran’s economy and its 80 million people.

At a news conference in the Capitol complex, Boehner spoke strongly against the deal and rebutted one of Obama’s central claims over the past two days.

Downing Street said the leaders “welcomed the historic deal and underlined their respective commitments to delivering on it”.

Trump further said that Iran’s chief negotiator, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, outwitted American officials.

With a United Nations Security Council vote on a resolution considered likely as early as next week, the Republican chairs of the House Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security Committees have sent a letter to Obama asking him to delay the vote.

Critics say the deal contains loopholes, especially in inspection procedures that Iran could exploit, and will provide Tehran with an infusion of unfrozen assets to fund its proxies in sectarian conflicts ranging from Syria to Iraq to Yemen.

Boehner declined to forecast the outcome. 55% of Republicans oppose the deal. “What those numbers look like post-Labor Day, we’ll see”. An already unstable corner of the world will become even more so.

There is no requirement that Iran change its behavior before restrictions on its nuclear program are lifted, and the deal does not require the Iranians to dismantle all their nuclear infrastructure.

Advertisement

Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois said she believes there’s enough support in the House to sustain a veto. “This is a sign of hope for the entire world”. It is essentially aimed at stopping Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, while at the same time easing global sanctions against the country.

Obama Hezbollah American Prisoners in Iran Unrelated to Nuke Deal