CNN Poll: Majority Want Military Action If Iran Violates Deal

A second Republican attempt to block the Iran nuclear deal failed on the Senate floor Tuesday as calls for Republican leaders to abandon their efforts to condemn the deal grew louder.

With polls showing that public support for the Iran agreement is as low as 21 percent, Senate Republicans can quote Harry Reid’s arguments for invoking the “nuclear option” for confirming judges last session: surely having the Senate cast a vote on this treaty is way more important than confirming judges?

AIPAC, the largest pro-Israel group in the USA , which like the AJC opposed the Iran deal, said the “American people deserved a direct up or down vote on the resolution of disapproval”, which until now has been the focus of opponents of the Iran deal.

As debate resumed Tuesday, McConnell accused Democratic senators of refusing to let the Senate vote on the deal. “The Republicans lost those votes, and whatever their future plans, they will not prevent President Obama and his Administration from implementing the Iran nuclear agreement“.

It would stop the president from lifting sanctions on Iran unless Tehran recognizes the state of Israel and releases Americans detained in Iran. Republicans, with 58 votes, lacked the 60 votes needed to break that filibuster.

Democrats who have endorsed the deal blocked the disapproval resolution on the procedural vote, where the 60-vote threshold gives them leverage.

For now, Democratic leaders argue the majority party should move on and help hammer out a short-term budget agreement that funds the federal government past September 30.

Congressmen Chuck Fleischmann and Scott DesJarlais were among those voting against President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran on Friday. “We want to bring these detainees and prisoners home as quickly as possible, and putting them in the middle of this political debate here I don’t believe is helpful at all“.

“Democrats seem to think they can end the discussion by blocking an up-or-down vote, then turn around and pretend they care deeply about Israel and human rights”, he said.

Given Iran’s ongoing support of terrorism, “It’s worth remembering that if this deal goes through, we know to an absolute certainty, people will die”, said Sen.

The accord got a boost as the Vatican, just ahead of Pope Francis’ visit to Washington next week, welcomed the agreement.

Booker: “Make no mistake, this deal, while falling short of permanently eliminating Iran’s pathways to a nuclear weapon, succeeds in either delaying it or giving us the credible ability to detect significant cheating on their part and respond accordingly”.