“I support this deal because I believe it is the best option to halt any Iranian nuclear weapons program and therefore to protect the State of Israel”, he said.
Advertisement
He also criticized the tenor of a debate which has seen those on the extremes accuse some Jewish supporters of the deal of betraying their faith and Israel and, on the other side, charges of treason and putting the interests of Israel before America by Jewish members of Congress who oppose the agreement. Republicans in the Senate are united in opposing the Iran deal, but they’ve been joined so far by only two Democrats, Chuck Schumer of New York and Bob Menendez of New Jersey. The revelation has fueled suspicions that the Obama administration is so eager to arrive at an agreement with Iran that it accepted terms that would allow the Islamic Republic to create a nuclear bomb without a an adequate inspection regime and with no way to counter such a development short of going to war, which the White House is reluctant to do, despite assurances to the contrary.
“I strongly support this historic agreement and will do everything in my power to ensure that it stands”, he closed. It indicates that there could be few remaining undecided Democrats who are likely to come out against the deal. She reiterated that assertion in a letter Friday to fellow Democrats in which she trumpeted Nadler’s endorsement and declared, “I feel confident that we will sustain the president’s veto, and we will all work together to hold Iran accountable to honoring the agreement”.
“In addition, Representative Adam Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said that the letter expanded assurances that sanctions lifted under the nuclear accord could be reimposed piece by piece, not all at once, to keep Iran in compliance”, wrote the Times.
Obama also said the State Department will be establishing a separate office to implement the nuclear accord.
The Republican-majority Congress will vote whether to approve the agreement, in which guards against Iran’s nuclear weapons capability are exchanged with removal of economic sanctions, in September. “But the notion that we can just sort of diss the deal and unilaterally walk away as Congress wants to do will have a profound negative impact on people’s sense of American leadership and reliability”.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has led the outspoken campaign against the Iran nuclear deal. His support will make it hard for opponents to muster the veto-proof numbers needed in the Senate, and therefore, in Congress to scuttle the agreement. The White House has declined to detail who Obama is calling to talk about the deal.
Advertisement
As Israel’s government has moved to the right in recent decades, splits have opened among U.S. Jews, including on the Iran deal.
