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Indiana Officials Divided Over Iran Nuclear Deal

Update: After Congress failed to disapprove the agreement through a resolution yesterday, the Obama administration has moved froward and announced former US Ambassador to Poland, Stephen Mull, to lead the implementation process.

President Obama's proposed nuclear agreement with Iran has been on the table for months.

Congress is deeply divided along party lines whether to lift sanctions on the country and allow Iran to pursue nuclear energy.

Republicans say allowing Iran access to nuclear energy could lead to a nuclear arms race in the region, but Democrats say lifting sanctions could help the Iranian middle class thrive and support international relations in the Middle East.

This discussion is a hot topic in Washington D.C., and various groups in Indiana are also weighing in, trying to persuade Indiana's Congressional representatives of their views on the deal.

A Divide Among Legislators

David Keppel has been hard at work rallying support in southern Indiana for the United States' nuclear deal with Iran since its announcement earlier this summer.

"Well, as we saw the negotiations getting closer we realized this would hinge on Congress, and we have worked very hard to show Sen. Joe Donnelly and Sen. Dan Coats and Congressman Todd Young that there's strong grassroots support for the deal," he says.

Sen. Joe Donnelly, D-Indiana, announced his support of the deal in August but Sen. Dan Coats, R-Indiana, and all Indiana's Republican representatives in Congress are firmly against the deal.

One of their primary concerns is that the agreement is not enough to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.

"I think there'll be long-term negative consequences for this, and I'm very, very concerned about an arms race in the Middle East now that will take place that will lead to a nuclear Armageddon," Coats says. "We could have done much better. We could have negotiated much more. We had the leverage; we gave it away in a desperate attempt to please Iran. And they're cheering in the streets of Tehran and still calling 'Death to America' and calling us the 'Great Satan,' so I don't think that turns out to be the deal we should have struck."

Even though the deal sets up an in-depth inspection process to ensure that Iran doesn't cheat on the deal, many still have concerns that the money freed up from the end of sanctions will go to terrorist organizations in the region.

"They've stuffed out every attempt at liberalization, so I think we're dealing with a rogue nation here, and we've just given them power and money, well over $100 billion now, to rebuild themselves," Coats says. "And they'll be a wealthier, much more capable nation in the future with disruption of everything in the Middle East, and jeopardizing not just Israel, but many of their neighbors."

They'll be a wealthier, much more capable nation in the future with disruption of everything in the Middle East.

Gathering Support In Southern Indiana

Supporters of the agreement are confident the deal is a diplomatic solution strong enough to prevent Iran from enriching the needed amount of uranium to make a nuclear weapon, at least until the agreement's expiration date in 15 years.

Feisal Istrabadi, founding director of IU's Center for the Study of the Middle East, addressed critic's concerns during a recent panel discussion at Indiana University.

"Of course, Iran can cheat, but hopefully and presumably, the technology for detecting that cheating will improve over the 10-15 years," he says. "And in the meantime, it controls Iran's nuclear program at least over the life of the agreement."

The Iran deal has been voted down by the House and it's being deliberated in the Senate, but a disapproval from Congress doesn't mean an end for the agreement.

A veto by President Obama supported by enough votes would let the deal go through.

As long as Congress has the issues in front of them, David Keppel says he'll continue to make the case for diplomacy from Bloomington.

"Deals are strong when they're in both countries' interests," he says. "This deal is strongly in Iran's interest, and it's in our interest, and they're not conflicting."

This story includes Indiana Newsdesk's Joe Hren and Center on Congress Director Lee Hamilton:

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