Menendez Becomes Second Senate Democrat To Oppose Iran Nuclear Deal

Republicans will need 60 votes to advance Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s resolution of disapproval.

Republicans will need the support of six Democrats to overcome a filibuster of legislation to kill the deal, and an additional seven to overcome Obama’s veto, assuming GOP lawmakers vote in a united bloc.

The comments by Khamenei, who has the final say on all state matters in Iran, suggests he supports allowing Iran’s parliament to review and vote on the deal.

Menendez is the second senior Democratic Senator to oppose the deal, with Sen. Schumer says he won’t whip for support, and Menendez’s loss of ranking member status on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee dilutes the influence he had at the beginning of the year.

President Obama’s insistence that opponents of the Iran nuclear deal haven’t offered a credible alternative is getting a direct challenge from his own party’s leading skeptic.

The rabbinic leaders explain they prefer to steer away from politics; however, “we feel that the current agreement with Iran jeopardizes not only American interests but threatens the very existence of the State of Israel“.

Over history, Congress has rejected outright or demanded changes to more than 200 treaties and global agreements, including 80 that were multilateral.

Mr. Menendez said the negotiations began on the premise that its nuclear infrastructure would be largely stripped away. But Mr. Obama has continued to lobby lawmakers by phone during his two-week vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. White House allies, including some Jewish-American groups, have joined the effort to win Democratic support. The site is a suspected location of Iran’s long range missile and nuclear weapons’ development.

Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he opposes the nuclear agreement with Iran, arguing it won’t end the country’s nuclear enrichment program and may lead to greater instability in the Middle East.

Senator Menendez’s announcement isn’t a surprise.

Menendez zeroes in on the complete worthlessness of the deal and the case for the deal.

“This agreement is the best option to halt Iran’s nuclear weapon program”, she said in a statement, bringing the total number of Senate Democrats who support the pact to 21. He pointed out that throughout Obama’s term in office he has mainly backed the Democratic president, voting for Wall Street and healthcare reforms and other major initiatives. They in turn will withhold $8.3 million in contributions from Schumer and like-minded senate Democrats who also opposed the Iran proposition.

Had he supported the deal, Flake likely would’ve been the lone Republican to do so.

He said the deal only “mothballs” Iran’s nuclear infrastructure for the next ten years.

“I came to my decision after countless hours of briefings, discussion and analysis”, he said. He first voiced concerns when the deal was announced, calling some aspects “worrisome”.