House Republicans said Monday they have the votes to reject President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, but the White House expressed growing confidence it will win a veto showdown over the accord as the administration moved to ease concerns among Arab allies and Jewish leaders in the U.S.
“Time is not the friend of this deal,” said Rep. Peter Roskam, Illinois Republican who has introduced a resolution to disapprove the Iranian accord. “The more time members spend evaluating this agreement, the more they realize it’s an historic mistake.”
In Qatar, Secretary of State John F. Kerry tried to reassure leaders of Gulf Arab states Monday that the U.S. will keep expanding security cooperation with them to counter any destabilizing activities from Iran and others. He said the nuclear deal might or might not affect Iran’s behavior, but that the U.S. and its allies must plan as if it would not.
“Every state in the region hopes that there could be a change but we have to prepare for the possibility and eventuality that it won’t,” Mr. Kerry said.
Republicans hold 246 seats in the House, and it was widely expected that the GOP would come up with 218 votes needed to support the resolution. But White House officials said Monday they have “momentum” for the deal among Democratic lawmakers who will be needed to uphold Mr. Obama’s expected veto of the effort to unravel the agreement.
“We’ve made some important progress and are building up some momentum on Capitol Hill,” said White House press secretary Josh Earnest. “Over the last 48 to 72 hours, we’ve seen some notable names come out in support of the agreement.”
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He cited Reps. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, an Iraq war veteran, and Adam Schiff of California, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence committee, suggesting that administration officials changed Mr. Schiff’s mind with their lobbying effort. Mr. Earnest noted that “even” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts Democrat and a sometime critic of the administration, has come out in support of the agreement.
Three House Democrats — Reps. Grace Meng and Kathleen Rice of New York, and Rep. Albio Sires of New Jersey — have announced their opposition. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California said Democrats will have at least the 146 votes needed to sustain a veto.
Mr. Obama, who met with House Democrats last week, has summoned Jewish-American leaders to the White House on Tuesday afternoon to try to ease their concerns about the agreement. The meeting will come shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposes the deal vehemently, addresses American Jews through a webcast organized by the Jewish Federations of North America and the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
The agreement, reached July 14 between Iran and six major powers led by the U.S., will impose limits on Tehran’s nuclear program in return for relief from economic sanctions. Iran will need to eliminate two-thirds of its uranium-enriching centrifuges, get rid of 98 percent of its enriched uranium and submit to international inspections.
Mr. Obama said it’s the best way to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Critics argue that the accord doesn’t require Tehran to dismantle its nuclear facilities, won’t stop it from building a bomb and will provide Iran with an infusion of cash to sponsor more terrorism in the Middle East.
Speaking for the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council, Qatar’s top diplomat said the bloc was impressed by Mr. Kerry’s presentation of the agreement and explanations of how it will be verified and enforced.
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“Consequently, the GCC countries have welcomed on this basis what has been displayed and what has been talked about by His Excellency Mr. Kerry,” said Foreign Minister Khalid al-Attiyah, whose nation currently chairs the group. “He let us know that there is a going to be live oversight over Iran. This is reassuring to the region.”
Among the steps under discussion are developing a ballistic missile defense capability, expediting arms transfers, special forces training, maritime and cyber security programs and a significant boost in intelligence sharing, Mr. Kerry said. Working groups on those issues will begin meeting next week in Saudi Arabia, Mr. Kerry added.
Congress has 60 days to review the Iran agreement, and will vote on it in September. Democrats who are Jewish or represent districts with large Jewish populations are among the lawmakers being lobbied most heavily.
More than 120 wealthy Democratic donors, including Hollywood producer Norman Lear and former Clinton-Gore campaign chair Mickey Kantor, have written to the party’s leadership in Congress to express support for the Iran deal.
The letter, reported Monday by Politico, was signed by members of the Democracy Alliance donor network and warned lawmakers that scuttling the deal “would put us back on a path to a nuclear-armed Iran, another costly military campaign — or both.”
Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, a prominent Jewish Democrat, has backed the deal. New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell, who is undecided but leaning toward approving the deal, said a former Israeli general who used to lead Israel’s Labor Party visited his office and surprisingly urged him to vote yes.
Mr. Schiff, who announced his support Monday for the deal, called the agreement “a major achievement.”
“The deal realistically precludes Iran from developing an atomic bomb for fifteen or more years, and does so while reducing the chances of war,” he said in a statement. “I have searched for a better, credible alternative and concluded that there is none.”
Mr. Schiff said he’s pleased that the deal allows the U.S. to “snap back” sanctions if Iran is caught cheating, and with the requirement for “intrusive” inspections. But he said other aspects of the agreement are “deeply concerning,” including “lack of robust access” to sites of Iran’s past military work on nuclear weapons, and the scope of Iran’s enrichment program after 15 years.
He said Congress, instead of rejecting the deal, should try to make it stronger by strengthening intelligence to detect Iranian violations, making sure Iran never is allowed to produce weapons-grade uranium, sharing “bunker-busting” military technology with Israel if Iran buries its nuclear facilities, and making clear the penalties for violations will be severe.
“If Iran is determined to go nuclear, there is only one way to stop it and that is by the use of force,” Mr. Schiff said. “But then at least, the American people and others around the world will recognize that we did everything possible to avoid war.”
Rep. Anna Eschoo, California Democrat, said the agreement isn’t perfect but rejecting it would be a “grave mistake.”
“In the face of a legitimate threat of immense magnitude from a nuclear-capable Iran, I believe this agreement is the right path forward,” she said.
Many Israeli ex-generals and former security chiefs have signed a petition urging Mr. Netanyahu to accept the nuclear deal. The petition, made public Monday, calls the accord a “fait accompli” and urges the Israeli government to pursue a policy that would “restore trust and reinforce security and diplomatic cooperation with the American administration.”
Doing so would “allow us to prepare to face the numerous challenges that will result from the agreement,” the petition stated. The signatories include two former heads of the Shin Bet internal security agency, Ami Ayalon and Carmi Gillon; a former deputy director of the Mossad intelligence agency, Amiram Levin; the ex-chief of the Atomic Energy Commission Uzi Eilmann; and dozens of former generals and senior officers.
• This article is based in part on wire-service reports.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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