U.S. Republican senators vow to thwart any Iran deal if Biden skips congressional review
A group of 33 Republican senators warned U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday that they would work to thwart implementation of any new Iran nuclear agreement if his government did not allow Congress to review and vote on its terms.
Led by Senator Ted Cruz, a long-time opponent of the 2015 nuclear deal, the senators told Biden in a letter dated Monday that they would use "the full range of options and leverage available" to ensure that his government adhered to U.S. laws governing any new accord with Iran.
Indirect talks in Vienna between Iran and the United States on reviving the 2015 agreement are due to resume toay. Talk of a possible agreement has driven oil prices lower, with markets anticipating that the possible removal of sanctions on Iranian oil sales could boost global supplies.
The Biden administration has been trying to revive the deal, which lifted sanctions against Tehran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear activities, a deal from which former President Donald Trump withdrew the United States in 2018.
Iran later breached many of the deal's nuclear restrictions and kept pushing well beyond them.
Cruz and other senior Republican senators told Biden that implementation of any new deal would be "severely, if not terminally hampered" if he did not meet statutory obligations aimed at ensuring congressional oversight over revisions or changes to the 2015 Iran nuclear accord.
Democrats control the 50-50 Senate only by virtue of a tie-breaking vote that can be cast by Vice President Kamala Harris, but they could lose control of the Senate and the House of Representatives in mid-term elections later this year.
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