Iran nuclear deal ‘a very hard sell’ as Congress doubts agreement

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell talks to reporters after the Senate Republican weekly policy luncheon at the Capitol in Washington, July 8, 2015.

In an earlier statement, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif asserted that pressure would not work against his country as sanctions have failed to keep Iran from developing its peaceful nuclear program.

The U.S. Congress could play a key role in the future of any deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program, with negotiations reaching a critical juncture in Vienna on Sunday.

“I think it’s going to be a very hard sell, if it’s completed, in Congress”, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told “Fox News Sunday”.

One Republican candidate, Senator Lindsay Graham, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” the negotiations should be left to the next president, who would take office in January 2017.

This historic deal has already been extended two weeks past its initial June 30 deadline.

“There are other ways that we can improve relations with Iran”, Web said.

McConnell said he would have preferred ratcheting up sanctions since that’s what brought Iran to the negotiating table in the first place, but since President Barack Obama has decided to pursue a deal Congres is interested in learning what the Iranians have done in the past in nuclear research, and whether that information is verifiable.

“On the other hand, if we feel like we’re better off with it, people will look to approve it.”

Robert Menendez of New Jersey, a number one overseas coverage voice amongst Senate Democrats, stated the prospect of a deal made him “anxious”, saying the talks had moved from stopping Iran from having a nuclear functionality, to managing it.

Menendez said he would judge the agreement when he has all the elements but said Obama needs to make very clear to Iran that there’s a longer term deterrence, “because in 12 to 13 years we will be exactly back to where we are today except that Iran will have $100 (billion) to $150 billion more in its pocket and promoting terrorism throughout the Middle East”.

Republicans control both the Senate and House of Representatives.

McConnell suggested that President Obama will ultimately win final approval for the deal, considering he would need only 34 Senate votes to veto the likely passage of “resolution of disapproval” by the GOP-led chamber.

Menendez spoke on ABC’s “This Week”.

“I think whatever deal comes out of this weekend, it s going to be unsafe for the United States and unsafe for the world”, Cotton said.

Senator Bob Corker, author of the legislation allowing for a congressional vote on the deal, said he was “glad that negotiators are taking their time”, though he said that United States negotiators “really crossed the Rubicon during the Joint Plan of Action when we went from dismantlement to monitoring”.