{"id":167044,"date":"2015-07-20T16:29:10","date_gmt":"2015-07-20T16:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/?p=167044"},"modified":"2015-07-20T16:29:10","modified_gmt":"2015-07-20T16:29:10","slug":"spoiler-alert-us-politics-wreck-iran-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/latest-news\/spoiler-alert-us-politics-wreck-iran-deal\/","title":{"rendered":"Spoiler alert: How US politics could wreck the Iran deal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The US and world powers have struck a landmark deal with Iran over its controversial nuclear program, but the agreement faces tough obstacles ahead \u2014 particularly with Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates vowing to unravel it.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>With much of the fierce rhetoric against the agreement coming<br \/>\nfrom the Republican Party, which just so happens to currently<br \/>\ncontrol Congress, the political focus has shifted from whether or<br \/>\nnot President Barack Obama would strike a deal with Iran to<br \/>\nwhether or not his political opponents can kill it before it even<br \/>\ngets up and running.<\/p>\n<p>Here are three ways domestic political maneuvering could bring<br \/>\ndown the nascent nuclear accord.<\/p>\n<h2>Congress can kill the deal<\/h2>\n<p>Under the compromise agreement passed by Congress and signed by<br \/>\nPresident Obama, Congress has 60 days to review the international<br \/>\nagreement and vote to either approve or disapprove its<br \/>\nimplementation. The deal does not require Congressional approval<br \/>\nto go into effect, but a vote against it would stop Obama from<br \/>\nlifting sanctions against Iran, which is needed to move the<br \/>\nprocess forward. If they aren\u2019t lifted, the deal may as well not<br \/>\nexist.<\/p>\n<p>This option appears to be the most direct path forward for<br \/>\nopponents of the deal, but it will require a significant amount<br \/>\nof bipartisan consensus building on a polarizing issue \u2014 not<br \/>\nexactly something the legislative branch has a good track record<br \/>\nfor over the past few years. Since President Obama has already<br \/>\npromised to veto any disapproval of the deal, opponents would<br \/>\nhave to scrounge up a sizable amount of Democratic votes to<br \/>\noverturn it.<\/p>\n<p>If every single Republican in the House votes against the deal,<br \/>\n44 Democrats would need to join them to form a veto-proof<br \/>\nmajority. Given the same scenario in the Senate, 13 Democrats<br \/>\nwould have to join the GOP.<\/p>\n<p>So far, many in the president\u2019s party have generally refrained<br \/>\nfrom criticizing the nuclear accord. One exception has been<br \/>\nRepresentaive Brad Sherman (D-California), who argued that the<br \/>\npoint of sanctions was to change the regime in Tehran, and that<br \/>\nthe deal now makes this goal much more difficult. He said Iran<br \/>\nwill benefit from sanctions relief and use some of that influx in<br \/>\ncash to <em>\u201ckill a lot of Sunnis \u2026 Americans, Israelis and work<br \/>\nother mischief.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/CMdSaRhNkw4\" width=\"640\" height=\"390\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><br \/>\n  One area that could see bipartisan opposition is the lifting of<br \/>\nthe conventional arms embargo on Iran, which was implemented<br \/>\nbecause of Tehran&#8217;s alleged support for militant groups in the<br \/>\nregion, as opposed to its nuclear program. Multiple Democrats<br \/>\nhave previously said the US should not lift this embargo as part<br \/>\nof a nuclear agreement.<\/p>\n<p>Others have taken a more cautious approach, with Senate Majority<br \/>\nLeader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) and Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New<br \/>\nYork) vowing to closely review the deal before making any<br \/>\ndecision on their support.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/rt.com\/news\/273553-iran-nuclear-deal-highlights\/\" target=\"_blank\">READ MORE: Key points of historic nuclear deal<br \/>\nreached by Iran and 6 world powers<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said<br \/>\nshe <em>\u201capplauded\u201d<\/em> the deal, adding she <em>\u201cwould be<br \/>\nabsolutely devoted to assuring the agreement is followed,\u201d<\/em><br \/>\nFox News reported.<\/p>\n<p>Dark horse candidate Bernie Sanders, the independent senator from<br \/>\nVermont, also praised the deal, saying the Obama administration<br \/>\nhad produced <em>\u201ca comprehensive agreement to prevent Iran from<br \/>\nobtaining a nuclear weapon.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Despite the long odds of stopping the agreement in its tracks,<br \/>\nHouse of Representatives Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said the<br \/>\nchamber <em>\u201cwill review every detail of this agreement very<br \/>\nclosely, but I won\u2019t support any agreement that jeopardizes the<br \/>\nsafety of the American people and all who value freedom and<br \/>\nsecurity.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>\n  A Republican president could immediately withdraw from the accord<\/h2>\n<p>If a Republican manages to gain control of the White House in<br \/>\n2016, they could simply reject the accord, remove US from its<br \/>\nparticipation, and potentially reinstate American sanctions on<br \/>\nIran. Some Republican candidates, such as Wisconsin Governor<br \/>\nScott Walker and Florida Senator Marco Rubio, have already<br \/>\npledged to do so.<\/p>\n<p>The deal with Iran <em>\u201cwill be remembered as one of America\u2019s<br \/>\nworst diplomatic failures,\u201d<\/em> Walker said. <em>\u201cIn order to<br \/>\nensure the safety of America and our allies, the next president<br \/>\nmust restore bipartisan and international opposition to Iran\u2019s<br \/>\nnuclear program while standing with our allies to roll back<br \/>\nIran\u2019s destructive influence across the Middle East.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" lang=\"en\" readability=\"8.1142857142857\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\n    I call on all congressional leaders and presidential<br \/>\ncandidates, including <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HillaryClinton\">@HillaryClinton<\/a> to<br \/>\nrepudiate this bad <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Iran?src=hash\">#Iran<\/a> deal. &#8211;<br \/>\nSW<\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ScottWalker\/status\/620961257479274497\">July<br \/>\n14, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Rubio added that should the deal go forward under Obama, <em>\u201cIt<br \/>\nwill then be left to the next President to return us to a<br \/>\nposition of American strength and re-impose sanctions on this<br \/>\ndespicable regime until it is truly willing to abandon its<br \/>\nnuclear ambitions and is no longer a threat to international<br \/>\nsecurity.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, meanwhile, called the accord a<br \/>\n<em>\u201cdangerous, deeply flawed, and short sighted deal.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThis isn\u2019t diplomacy \u2014 it is appeasement,\u201d<\/em> he said in a<br \/>\nstatement. <em>\u201cA comprehensive agreement should require Iran to<br \/>\nverifiably abandon \u2014 not simply delay \u2014 its pursuit of a nuclear<br \/>\nweapons capability.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" lang=\"en\" readability=\"8.6807228915663\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\n    The nuclear agreement with Iran is a dangerous, deeply flawed,<br \/>\nand short sighted deal. My full statement: <a href=\"http:\/\/t.co\/sSftOAkyAM\">http:\/\/t.co\/sSftOAkyAM<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2013 Jeb Bush (@JebBush) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JebBush\/status\/620976543075016704\">July<br \/>\n14, 2015<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), known for his hawkish<br \/>\nforeign policy views, said, <em>\u201cThis is a deal for a deal\u2019s<br \/>\nsake\u201d<\/em> before adding that it is <em>\u201cakin to declaring war on<br \/>\nIsrael and the Sunni Arabs.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>But while it may be tempting for a GOP president to nonchalantly<br \/>\nscuttle one of President Obama\u2019s major accomplishment, such a<br \/>\nmove could carry tough consequences. If the US were to<br \/>\nunilaterally withdraw from the nuclear agreement, it may prove<br \/>\ndifficult to convince the international community to impose<br \/>\nsanctions on Iran once again. Allies in the EU eager to do<br \/>\nbusiness with Tehran may be unwilling to march in lock step with<br \/>\nWashington, while Iran itself could restart a nuclear program the<br \/>\nUS, Israel and others view as dangerous.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cIf we try to reimpose sanctions on Iran and no one follows,<br \/>\nthen we have the worst of all worlds,\u201d<\/em> Robert Einhorn, a<br \/>\nformer Iran nuclear negotiator at the State Department, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2015\/07\/gop-president-iran-deal-kill-120077.html#ixzz3ftdJB7XK\" target=\"_blank\">said to Politico<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>\n  The next president could slowly sow doubts about Iran\u2019s<br \/>\ncompliance<\/h2>\n<p>Another option could be for a future president to try and slowly<br \/>\nundermine the deal rather than kill it outright. According to<br \/>\nPolitico, a new commander in chief could initiate a review of the<br \/>\nagreement in order to determine whether Iran had violated any of<br \/>\nthe provisions and, if so, the frequency of infractions.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/rt.com\/news\/273661-iran-deal-twitter-reaction\/\" target=\"_blank\">READ MORE: #IranDeal as seen online: New horizons<br \/>\nor impending Apocalypse?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Additionally, a new president could try to build support for<br \/>\nfurther restrictions on Iran\u2019s nuclear program instead of voiding<br \/>\nthe deal.<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThe president could insist, for instance, that if within<br \/>\nfive years UN inspectors cannot verify that Iran\u2019s nuclear<br \/>\nprogram is entirely peaceful, then the restrictions on Iran\u2019s<br \/>\nnuclear activities that would have dropped off after year 10<br \/>\nwould stay on,\u201d<\/em> wrote Nahal Toosi at Politico.<\/p>\n<p>A new president could also find other ways to constrain Tehran,<br \/>\nsuch as by implementing sanctions unrelated to its nuclear<br \/>\nprogram. These could target Iran\u2019s support of groups such as<br \/>\nHezbollah, which the State Department claims Iran uses to<br \/>\ninterfere with other nations.<\/p>\n<p>This piece was reprinted by <a href=\"http:\/\/rinf.com\">RINF Alternative News<\/a> with permission or license.<\/p>\n<p><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Via\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rt.com\/usa\/273706-us-politics-ruin-iran-deal\/?utm_source=rss&amp;utm_medium=rss&amp;utm_campaign=RSS\">RT<\/a>\u00a0&#8211; Reprinted with licence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The US and world powers have struck a landmark deal with Iran over its controversial nuclear program, but the agreement faces tough obstacles ahead \u2014 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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":167045,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[487,18,1616],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-167044","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-breaking-news","8":"category-latest-news","9":"category-usa-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167044"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167044\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}