Virginia Democratic Senator backs Iran nuclear deal

Tim Kaine (D-Va.), the first to declare his position, gave a speech on the Senate floor lauding the global community’s use of diplomacy over force to bring about a peaceful agreement that will require Iran to dismantle the bulk of its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Boxer, who is Jewish, said she share’s Israel’s mistrust of Iran, but the agreement is based on an unprecedented inspections process.

The White House on Tuesday got two crucial Senate votes, both from lawmakers representing battleground states that Obama won in his two presidential races, in an effort to sustain the president’s expected veto if Congress disapproves the Iran nuclear deal.

“A punishing sanctions regime did not stop Iran’s nuclear program”.

Boxer’s statement came one day after Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Palo Alto, voiced her own support in a statement explaining “one of the most consequential foreign policy votes I will cast during my tenure in Congress”. For the Senate to have a veto-proof majority, all Republicans and 13 Democrats would have to vote against the deal. “I believe our vital interests have been advanced under the agreement, since it would be extremely hard for Iran to amass enough fissionable material to make a nuclear weapon without giving the United States ample notice and time to stop it”.

Kaine is a member of the Overseas Relations and the Armed Providers committees.

Nelson said the goal, for a while at least, accomplishes the goal of depriving Iran from developing a nuclear bomb. Some Senate Democrats are skeptical of the deal while others support it, with many still undecided.