“The agreement that has been reached failed to achieve the one thing it set out to achieve: It failed to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear weapons state at a time of its choosing”, said Menendez, speaking at the Seton Hall School of Diplomacy and worldwide Relations. Chuck Schumer in rejecting the deal.
Advertisement
Elkin, who is one of the politicians closest to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said he was disappointed that the rabbis have not joined efforts to persuade Congress to reject the deal next month when it will vote on the controversial agreement.
“Let’s remind ourselves of the stated goal of our negotiations with Iran: Simply put, it was to dismantle all or significant parts of Iran’s illicit nuclear infrastructure to ensure that it would not have nuclear weapons capability at any time”.
Iran’s parliament and the Supreme National Security Council will consider the agreement in the coming days.
Donnelly added that while “the day may come when we are left with no alternative but to take military action to prevent Iran from crossing the nuclear threshold”.
Despite his stance against the Iran deal, it is not clear how much Menendez, a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, would influence other Democrats.
The Senate and House of Representatives have to vote by September 17 on a “resolution of disapproval” being brought by majority Republicans aiming to sink the deal.
With his announcement, Menendez became the second high-profile Senate Democrat to announce opposition to the Iran deal. Two-thirds of the members of both houses of Congress would have to vote to override and, McConnell conceded, that’s unlikely to happen.
Bayit Yehudi MK Bezalel Smotrich said the US was a democratic country in which everyone had a right to their opinion.
AIPAC, the powerful pro-Israel group, is strongly opposed to the Iranian nuclear accord.
Under the negotiated deal, the United States and five world powers agreed to relieve Iran of its nuclear-related sanctions, unfreezing what experts estimate to be more than $100 billion in assets.
Menendez has received more money from pro-Israel donors than any other Democrat in the Senate, and members of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee are personally bankrolling his legal defense fund. Still, the lawmaker portrayed his vote on Tuesday as a decision of principle and integrity. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), who had been heavily lobbied by the White House, announced he would oppose the deal, and Sen.
Advertisement
But why are Democratic Senators Ben Cardin and Barbara Mikulski taking so long to formally lend their support for this historic step towards ending a nuclear arms race in the Middle East before it starts?
