All but one Senate Republican is pledging to oppose any new nuclear deal President Biden might forge with Iran.
Forty-nine out of 50 GOP senators, excluding only Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, sent a letter to the White House on Monday saying they would reject any new agreement that removed sanctions against Iran for funding international terrorism.
“By every indication, the Biden administration appears to have given away the store,” they wrote in the letter. “The administration appears to have agreed to lift sanctions that were not even placed on Iran for its nuclear activities in the first place, but instead because of its ongoing support for terrorism and its gross abuses of human rights.”
Mr. Paul said his decision not to sign the letter was out of principle, because there was nothing yet to oppose.
“Condemning a deal that is not yet formulated is akin to condemning diplomacy itself, not a very thoughtful position,” said Mr. Paul.
The White House is reportedly mulling a renewed version of the nuclear deal that former President Barack Obama negotiated with the belligerent middle eastern power in 2015. That deal, which was never approved by Congress, gave Iran billions in economic aid in exchange for putting its nuclear weapons program on hold for 15 years.
Former President Donald Trump exited the deal upon taking office in 2017 to widespread Republican applause. Since winning the 2020 election, Mr. Biden has signaled a willingness to renegotiate the agreement.
Rumors of an updated agreement have only grown in recent weeks as Russia invaded Ukraine, scrambling energy markets. To help solidify a deal, Mr. Biden is reportedly pledging to remove Trump-era economic sanctions that were imposed on Iran for funding Islamic terrorism.
GOP lawmakers said they would be open to an agreement that “blocks Iran’s path to nuclear weapons,” but only if the regime in Tehran severs its connection to terrorist groups. If Mr. Biden were to enter a new agreement without such precautions, Republicans say they will force a vote on the measure.
“Unless Iran ceases its support for terrorism, we will oppose removing and seek to reimpose any terrorism-related sanctions,” the Republicans wrote. “And we will force the Senate to vote on any administration effort to do so.”
Although the Senate GOP is set on pushing forward a vote, it is unlikely they would succeed in killing the deal outright. Since any deal with Iran is unlikely to be submitted to Congress as a treaty, which requires a two-thirds Senate vote ratification, Republicans would have to marshal only a simple majority in both chambers behind a resolution of disapproval.
While such a resolution could potentially pass, it could then be vetoed by Mr. Biden, at which point Republicans would need to secure a two-thirds majority within both the House and Senate to overturn. Such a result will be difficult to develop, given the polarized nature of Congress and the fact that Democrats hold narrow majorities in each chamber until at least January 2023.
• Haris Alic can be reached at halic@washingtontimes.com.
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