Key Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer will vote against Iran deal

“The truth of the matter is, inside of Iran, the people most opposed to the deal are the Revolutionary Guard, the Quds Force, hardliners who are implacably opposed to any cooperation with the worldwide community”, Obama added. It must vote on the nuclear agreement by September 17.

Obama continued, “I think that he tweeted that in response to me stating a fact, which is, is that if we were confronted with a situation in which we could not resolve this issue diplomatically, that we could militarily take out much of Iran’s military infrastructure”.

The Senate is scheduled to vote on a resolution rejecting the nuclear agreement with Iran shortly after returning from the four-week August recess.

The Jewish Democrat said he opposes the deal because he believes “Iran will not change” and that the deal will allow the Islamic regime to obtain sanctions relief “while ultimately retaining its nuclear and non-nuclear power”.

“Like many Jewish Democrats, Mr. Schumer approached the agreement under pressure from his constituents, the administration, and his own personal history and faith”, the New York Times reported on Thursday.

“Advocates on both sides have strong cases for their point of view that can not simply be dismissed”.

Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats and is seeking the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination, but to the chagrin of many in the party, offered a clear “I do” when asked whether he supports the agreement.

And the ugly, he said, is that Iran is permitted within 15 years “to have an unlimited quantity of centrifuges of unlimited quality, as well as heavy water reactors and reprocessing facilities”.

While Earnest did not specifically say Schumer’s negative vote would hinder his election to the position, the White House spokesman said generally that he “wouldn’t be surprised” if Democrats thought about “the voting record of those who would like to lead the caucus” when voting on Reid’s successor.

In the House, at least five Democrats came out in support of the plan on Wednesday following a major speech by Obama defending it.

The White House is downplaying the devastation wrought by Chuck Schumer’s opposition to the Iran deal. Chuck Schumer, was “disappointing”, Earnest said, but the move was not a surpise.

That includes Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., the ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Relations Committee, who expressed his opposition Thursday night.

The Iraq war, he said, “has not served the United States very well – that’s the essence of the difference”.

Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday he “profoundly disagrees” with the reasoning behind decisions by two prominent Democratic lawmakers to vote against the nuclear deal he negotiated with Iran.