Senate Democrats on Thursday handed U.S. President Barack Obama a major political victory for his administration’s nuclear deal with Iran, as they voted 58-42 to block a Republican resolution rejecting agreement.
A sense of relief combined with exhilaration appeared to grip the White House after the vote and Mr. Obama described the vote as a “historic step forward” that thwarted an attempt to scupper the six-nation accord aimed at limiting Iran’s nuclear development activities in exchange for a gradual reduction in economic sanctions against Tehran.
Under legislation passed by the U.S. Congress in May this year, the deal will automatically take effect unless both the House and Senate vote for a resolution of disapproval by September 17.
Welcoming his Democratic colleagues’ action on Capitol Hill, the President noted: “Going forward, we will turn to the critical work of implementing and verifying this deal so that Iran cannot pursue a nuclear weapon, while pursuing a foreign policy that leaves our country - and the world - a safer place.”
He also called the vote “a victory for diplomacy, for American national security, and for the safety and security of the world.”
However, Republicans vowed to try bringing up a similar resolution again next week and pass alternate resolutions to lay the groundwork for a legal challenge to implementation of the agreement, yet the consensus appeared to be that these efforts were unlikely to succeed unless the Senate also passed such measures, an unlikely prospect given this week’s vote.
They also said that a future Republican president could undo the agreement.
Yet even the four Democrats who had voted against Mr. Obama on the Iran deal appeared to adopt a conciliatory tone.
One of them, Senator Chuck Schumer, said, “Regardless of how one feels about the agreement, fair-minded Americans should acknowledge the president’s strong achievements in combating and containing Iran.”
