Senate approves Iran oversight plan

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Senate on Thursday overwhelmingly passed bipartisan legislation giving Congress oversight of any nuclear deal the administration reaches with Iran.

“The Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act offers the best chance for our constituents, through the Congress they elect, to weigh in on the White House’s negotiations with Iran,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

The bill passed on a 98-1 vote after months of wrangling. It gives lawmakers a chance to approve or disapprove a final agreement, but it does not include any of the controversial amendments various senators tried to attach to it, such as forcing Iran to recognize Israel’s right to exist. The House is expected to consider the measure next week.

Negotiations with Iran have long been a flashpoint for controversy since they became public in 2013. Members of both parties have expressed concerns about an interim agreement Iran reached with world powers earlier this year. The deal would not stop the country from enriching uranium, a substance needed to develop a nuclear bomb.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu assailed the framework as “a very bad deal” during a speech before a joint session of Congress in March, an appearance that sparked partisan bickering on Capitol Hill and threatened to derail congressional negotiations.

Senate lawmakers crafted the bill in a way that would draw the widespread support necessary to overcome a presidential veto. After initially threatening a veto, the White House softened its tone when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously approved the oversight legislation last month.

Freshman Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark—who authored a controversial open letter to Iran two months ago—was the only member to vote nay on Thursday, but not everyone who voted in favor of the measure was happy with it. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called the bill a “missed opportunity” because it doesn’t have the teeth to actually stop a bad deal from happening.

“The odds are now overwhelming that, under these ground rules, President Obama will negotiate, and Congress will acquiesce to, a terrible deal that allows Iran to acquire nuclear weapons and will endanger the lives of millions of Americans and our allies,” said Cruz, who is running for president. “I voted yes on final passage because it may delay, slightly, President Obama’s ability to lift the Iran sanctions, and it ensures we will have a Congressional debate on the merits of the Iran deal.”

Regardless of the final nuclear pact, easing Iranian sanctions has caused angst on both sides of the aisle since it affords a known state-sponsor of terrorism financial flexibility. Rep. Robert Pittenger, R-N.C., chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, has charged the administration with stabilizing Iran’s economy by repatriating some $12 billion in oil revenue, which Iran received for participating in the negotiations, by the end of June.

The U.S. did not barter for anything in return for its participation, much to the dismay of many who have advocated for Americans wrongly held in Iranian prisons. Nagmeh Abedini, wife of imprisoned Iranian-American pastor Saeed Abedini, said she “felt abandoned” when she learned the U.S. didn't attempt to secure her husband’s release as a precondition of the nuclear talks.

Tiffany Barrons, international director for the American Center for Law and Justice, which represents the Abedinis, told Morning Star News the negotiations have “dramatically complicated the situation.” Other U.S. citizens incarcerated in Iran include: Robert Levinson, who went missing in 2007 and may have been working with the CIA; Amir Hekmati, a Marine Corps veteran who was arrested in 2011 while visiting his family; and Jason Reza, Tehran bureau chief for The Washington Post who was accused in 2014 of spying.

To date, the administration has shown little interest in using a nuclear deal to secure their release.