Perhaps the most critical data point: Without a deal, Iran could acquire enough highly enriched material for a bomb in 60-90 days.
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A former sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps, Hekmati was visiting his ailing grandmother in 2011 when he was arrested on suspicion of spying.
Former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, who sits on the board of CNFI, said on a New York radio show Sunday, “I just can’t believe Chuck Schumer will support this”.
“And there’s one thing we won’t be able to do about it. We won’t be able to apply a comprehensive worldwide set of sanctions against Iran“.
Kerry told Congress there’s no way he could go back to Iran for a better deal and that Europe, which is eager to start doing business with the Islamist regime, would not support any effort to strengthen its terms. With August’s almost-predictable ebb in major news, lawmakers scattered around the country and Democratic leaders limited in their ability to organize a united front as effectively as they can at the Capitol, the odds increase that one testy exchange with a voter can garner the kind of attention that changes the tenor of the debate with still weeks left before the vote.
But, he told lawmakers, US forces will remain vigilant in maintaining Middle East stability and defending Israel, degrading and defeating the self-described Islamic State extremist group, and serving as a bulwark against Iranian hegemony.
Because Obama has agreed to lift the ban on Iranian oil exports and help Iran maximize its oil production and sales, Iran not only will cash in on a bonanza in world oil markets.
Other doubters of the sincerity of the seekers of a “better deal” say it’s telling to note that the sponsor of the TV ad campaign demanding a better deal is a group called Citizens for a Nuclear Free Iran, which is backed by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a pro-Israel organization lobbying Congress hard for the deal’s defeat.
Under a US law passed in May, Congress has until September 17 to weigh in on the agreement.
If Obama continues to prohibit U.S. oil producers from exporting while allowing Iran and others to flood the world market, the most likely casualty will be America’s shale oil industry. That is precisely why we need a better deal.
Supporters and opponents are urging members to decide and announce their positions, in the hopes that those who have gone public will inspire others to follow. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he is leaning toward supporting the deal.
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“There is an alternative to the current [deal], it is an amended deal”, says Mark Dubowitz, an global sanctions expert and executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) in Washington. But our catching Iran cheating is less important than the price they know they will pay if we catch them. “If you read the agreement, they are absolutely critical to its success”, he said.
