On July 14, five nuclear powers – the United States, Britain, France, Russia, and China, together with Germany, signed an agreement with Iran to prevent it acquiring a nuclear weapon in return for relief from sanctions that have hurt ordinary Iranians. Leading U.S. scientists, including Nobel laureates, wrote: “This is an innovative agreement, with much more stringent constraints than any previously negotiated in a non-proliferation context.”
The nuclear deal faces a September vote in Congress. If there were a veto-proof majority in Congress for a resolution of disapproval, the deal would be dead and the United States would be barred from complying with the terms we just negotiated.
A senior German official, Philipp Ackermann, recently said that it would be a catastrophe for Congress to kill the deal. Other nations would not go back to sanctions, while “The chance of Iran going back to the negotiating table would be effectively zero.” Iran would be free from the deal’s rigorous nuclear terms. In short, we would be in a crisis leading to war. Yet bombing would only drive Iran’s nuclear program underground and convince Iran it must have a nuclear deterrent.
Indiana Senator Dan Coats opposes the agreement, while Senator Joe Donnelly, long considered a swing vote, has announced his support, as have former Senator and Foreign Relations Committee chair Richard Lugar and former Congressman Lee Hamilton. Senator Donnelly is to be commended for a courageous decision.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/08/08/world/document-iranletteraug2015.html
https://twitter.com/TheIranDeal
https://www.irandealfacts.org/
https://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/iran-deal-german-philipp-ackermann-response-121100.html
