Saudi FM: Iran deal may stop Tehran from getting nuke weapon

Kerry insisted that critics of the deal, which curbs Iran’s nuclear program in return for sanctions relief, are pushing an unrealistic alternative that he dismissed as a “sort of unicorn arrangement involving Iran’s complete capitulation”.

The three were on Capitol Hill on Wednesday for classified briefings on the deal.

According to lawmakers emerging from the briefings, Kerry said the worldwide coalition behind existing economic and military sanctions will collapse no matter what Congress decides, an assessment that touched a Republican sore spot. And he said that because of the additional inspections required under the agreement being reviewed by Congress, there would be more information about the best way to target military weapons to destroy Iranian nuclear weapons capabilities.

US Secretary of State John Kerry staunchly defended the Iran nuclear deal telling skeptics warning his Senate that turning down the deal would allow to Iran to continue with its weapons program.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, put the onus on the Obama administration to convince members on Capitol Hill the agreement deserved their support. They will want to know what Iran will do with the billions it will receive in sanctions relief. If a disapproval resolution passes Congress and survives a veto, Obama would be unable to waive most of the U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran, which could cripple the nuclear pact.

It will be important for Congress to carefully review this agreement on its merits and at the same time be mindful of the likely consequences of its rejection: a collapse of diplomacy and global sanctions, as Iran pushes forward with a nuclear program unimpeded.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said there were no “side” or “secret” agreements between Iran and the IAEA that the United States and the five other world powers have not been briefed on in detail.

“You guys have been bamboozled”, added Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, complaining that the agreement wouldn’t permit neutral testing at Iran’s Parchin military complex to guard against cheating.

Republicans are seizing on what they are calling a “side deal” Iran negotiated with the global Atomic Energy Agency regarding inspections as a reason to oppose the overall agreement.

Kerry said the Iran deal carried the “real potential” for change in the volatile Middle East but acknowledged it “does not end the possibility of a confrontation with Iran”.

Meetings with Saudi officials on Thursday, including Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, seem to have gone comparatively much better.al-Jubeir told reporters that the contents of the deal appear to effectively cut off Iran’s ability to obtain a nuclear bomb.

Democrats and allied independents control 46 seats in the Senate, and so far Sens. “I think the administration is one-by-one picking off some of the most important lingering questions from Democrats”.

Republicans were unpersuaded – and said so – at an occasionally contentious Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing that marked the opening of a new phase in the administration’s drive to prevent Congress from undermining the accord. But the mood turned critical immediately as Sen.