The US and world powers have struck a landmark deal with Iran over its controversial nuclear program, but the agreement faces tough obstacles ahead — particularly with Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates vowing to unravel it.
With much of the fierce rhetoric against the agreement coming
from the Republican Party, which just so happens to currently
control Congress, the political focus has shifted from whether or
not President Barack Obama would strike a deal with Iran to
whether or not his political opponents can kill it before it even
gets up and running.
Here are three ways domestic political maneuvering could bring
down the nascent nuclear accord.
Congress can kill the deal
Under the compromise agreement passed by Congress and signed by
President Obama, Congress has 60 days to review the international
agreement and vote to either approve or disapprove its
implementation. The deal does not require Congressional approval
to go into effect, but a vote against it would stop Obama from
lifting sanctions against Iran, which is needed to move the
process forward. If they aren’t lifted, the deal may as well not
exist.
This option appears to be the most direct path forward for
opponents of the deal, but it will require a significant amount
of bipartisan consensus building on a polarizing issue — not
exactly something the legislative branch has a good track record
for over the past few years. Since President Obama has already
promised to veto any disapproval of the deal, opponents would
have to scrounge up a sizable amount of Democratic votes to
overturn it.
If every single Republican in the House votes against the deal,
44 Democrats would need to join them to form a veto-proof
majority. Given the same scenario in the Senate, 13 Democrats
would have to join the GOP.
So far, many in the president’s party have generally refrained
from criticizing the nuclear accord. One exception has been
Representaive Brad Sherman (D-California), who argued that the
point of sanctions was to change the regime in Tehran, and that
the deal now makes this goal much more difficult. He said Iran
will benefit from sanctions relief and use some of that influx in
cash to “kill a lot of Sunnis … Americans, Israelis and work
other mischief.”
Via RT – Reprinted with licence.