A group of 43 Republican senators sent a letter (.pdf) yesterday to President Barack Obama “promising to reject a ‘weak and dangerous deal,’” according a report in the Washington Free Beacon. The letter noted that despite assurances from Secretary of State John Kerry that any nuclear deal with Iran would “have to pass muster with Congress,” the administration has been reported as seeking to bypass Congressional approval of any final deal.
Your negotiators appear to have disregarded clear expressions from the Senate emphasizing the need for a multi-decade agreements requiring Iran to fully suspend its enrichment and reprocessing activities, to dismantle its illicit nuclear infrastructure, and completely disclose its past work on nuclear weaponization,We see no indication your negotiators are pressing Iran to abandon efforts to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach American soil.
The letter was written jointly by Senator Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and was signed by 41 of their colleagues. According to the Free Beacon, the 43 were those who signed onto the bipartisan Kirk-Menendez sanctions bill that was quashed by the White House earlier this year.
The senators threatened to impose more sanctions on Iran unless it changed its behavior.
We will continue to seek to impose additional pressure on Iran in the months ahead unless Tehran abandons its nuclear ambitions and pursues a genuinely constructive path in its relations with the world.
Jennifer Rubin of The Washington Post estimated that, based on their past record and statements, another ten Republican and twelve Democratic senators would support the Kirk-Menendez bill. This would bring support in the Senate for greater sanctions on Iran to 65, more than enough to “survive a filibuster.” If more Democrats sign on, the bill would survive even a Presidential veto.
The Senate letter reflects a growing sentiment by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, and in both houses of Congress that any deal with Iran will need to pass legislative muster.
[Photo: Daniel X. O’Neil / Flickr ]