Tag Archives: Iran Nuclear Deal

Senate Democrats Block Bill to Condemn Iran Nuclear Deal

Senate Democrats have blocked the resolution of disapproval on the Iran nuclear deal by keeping the bill from being able to have a formal vote.

The move means the Democrats will filibuster any attempt to bring the bill to the floor for a vote, which would require 60 total votes to obtain cloture.

Republican leaders in the Senate said they would be bringing the measure back up for debate along with proposing new sanctions against Iran despite the nuclear deal.  The number 2 Republican in the Senate, Sen. John Cornyn, pointed out that earlier this year Democrats voted to give Congress a say on the deal but the filibuster blocks that exact thing from happening.

“We’ll revisit the issue next week and see if maybe any folks want to change their minds,” Republican majority leader, Mitch McConnell said in a speech.

The President, however, chose to focus on the fact Democrats blocked the bill from being able to get an up or down vote in the Senate chamber means the deal will go into effect.

“This vote is a victory for diplomacy, for American national security, and for the safety and security of the world,” President Obama said. “I am heartened that so many senators judged this deal on the merits, and am gratified by the strong support of lawmakers and citizens alike.”

House leadership said they will go forward with their votes condemning the deal.

“This is a bad deal with decades-long consequences for the security of the American people and our allies. And we’ll use every tool at our disposal to stop, slow, and delay this agreement from being fully implemented,” House Speaker John Boehner told a news conference.

Iran Nuclear Deal Now Virtually Unstoppable

A 34th Democratic Senator has announced they will stand behind President Obama’s Iran nuclear deal, assuring that a Presidential veto of a measure of disapproval will be upheld.

Retiring Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski announced her support of the deal Wednesday.

“No deal is perfect, especially one negotiated with the Iranian regime,” Mikulski said in a statement. “I have concluded that this Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is the best option available to block Iran from having a nuclear bomb. For these reasons, I will vote in favor of this deal.”

The victory for the White House came on the same day Secretary of State John Kerry gave a major speech in Philadelphia defending the deal.

“President Obama and I are convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that the framework that we have put forward will get the job done,” Kerry said.

The White House is now expected to try and obtain 41 senators to support the deal so they can stop the resolution of disapproval from ever reaching the President’s desk and forcing a veto.  It was unclear if the House or Senate will pick up the resolution first after the August recess.

Oil Prices Hit 6 1/2 Year Lows

Oil prices opened today by falling 6 percent to a 6 1/2 year low as markets worried about a Chinese-led global economic slowdown.

The markets were already steadily falling due to a season of plentiful oil supply.  However, one oil market analyst said the common forces of supply and demand are not causing the problems within the oil market prices.

“Today’s falls are not about oil market fundamentals. It’s all about China,” Carsten Fritsch, senior oil analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt, told the Reuters Global Oil Forum. “The fear is of a hard landing and that things get out of the control of the Chinese authorities.”

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell below $39 a barrel early Monday, a level that had not been reached since 2009.  The market had closed on Friday at $40.29.  In June 2014, oil was hovering around $100 a barrel.

The prices could fall significantly further if the Iranian nuclear deal between the Obama Administration and Iran is approved. The lifting of restrictions because of the deal would have Iranian oil flooding into the world market supply.  Iranian officials said they would be aiming to raise production.

“We will be raising our oil production at any cost and we have no other alternative,” Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said. “If Iran’s oil production hike is not done promptly, we will be losing our market share permanently.”

The company that tracks gasoline prices for AAA reports that gas prices at the pump for Americans will likely fall below $2 after averaging around $3.40 a year ago.

Major Jewish Senator Announces Opposition to Iran Nuclear Deal

Senator Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat who is in line to become the next leader of the Democrats in the senate after the retirement of Sen. Harry Reid, has announced that he will not support the nuclear deal with Iran.

“After deep study, careful thought and considerable soul-searching, I have decided I must oppose the agreement and will vote yes on a motion of disapproval,” Schumer wrote in a 1,600-word post on the website Medium.

“I will vote to disapprove the agreement, not because I believe war is a viable or desirable option, nor to challenge the path of diplomacy,” he added later. “It is because I believe Iran will not change, and under this agreement it will be able to achieve its dual goals of eliminating sanctions while ultimately retaining its nuclear and non-nuclear power.”

Sen. Schumer also said he would vote to override a veto by President Obama to Congress voting to reject his Iran deal.

Schumer is the latest Jewish member of Congress to oppose the deal.  Last week, Rep. Steve Israel of New York, most senior Democrat in the House, said he would oppose the deal.  The ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, Rep. Nita Lowey of New York, also said she would oppose the Iran deal.

California Rep. Adam Schiff, ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, downplayed the announcement of Schumer and other Jewish New York congressional members whose constituents see a connection between terror attacks in New York City and Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism around the world.

“There was no one in their constituency who had not been directly impacted by the attacks of 9/11,” Mr. Schiff said of New York lawmakers, “It had a real impact in the New York Jewish community.”

U.S. Pledges to Defend Israel from Iranian Attacks

The United States has told Israeli officials that if Iran attacks the nation in any way, the U.S. will be there to defend them.

“We have an ally relationship. The word ‘ally’ means something to us. It means that if you are attacked, we will defend you. That is what an ally relationship means… We use that term sparingly,” the senior defense official told the Times of Israel.

“We think that this deal decreases the need and likelihood of an attack. That’s why we signed it. We understand that military action is always an option. It’s an option for the United States,” the official said. “It’s an option for Israel. But the goal is to have an agreement that makes a military attack less needed. But Israel has the right to self-defense. We understand that.”

The two nations are reportedly working on a new “memorandum of understanding” that will increase America’s defense commitment to Israel.

The officials told the Times that administration officials are not pleased with Iran’s continued calls for wiping Israel off the map.

“That is not the way countries should act in today’s world,” the official said of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s calls for Israel’s annihilation. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t sign a deal that helps decrease the likelihood of them becoming a nuclear state. That’s the very reason we signed it.”

Saudi Prince Says Iran Deal Worse Than North Korea Deal

One of America’s biggest allies in the Middle East is not happy with the Iran nuclear deal and one of their major leaders spoke out against it.

Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who had been Saudi ambassador to the United States from 1981 to 2005, has written a column where he compares the Iran nuclear deal to a similar deal with North Korea that failed.

Prince Bandar claims the failure of the Iran deal will have worse consequences.

The Prince writes in his column that former President Bill Clinton would not have agreed to the deal had he known all the facts and that the deal with North Korea showed “the strategic foreign policy analysis was wrong and there was a major intelligence failure” according to a translation of the piece by the Washington Post.

He says the same situation applies to the Iran deal “where the strategic foreign policy analysis, the national intelligence information, and America’s allies in the region’s intelligence all predict not only the same outcome of the North Korean nuclear deal but worse – with the billions of dollars that Iran will have access to.”

Prince Bandar said that Saudi leaders are looking at the possibility that they will have to act without or against America in dealing with Iran.

“People in my region now are relying on God’s will, and consolidating their local capabilities and analysis with everybody else except our oldest and most powerful ally,” he writes.

The writing seemed to back up the claims of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the proposed deal.

“Iran will get a jackpot, a cash bonanza of hundreds of billions of dollars, which will enable it to continue to pursue its aggression and terror in the region and in the world,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday. “One cannot prevent an agreement when negotiators are willing to make more and more concessions to those who, even during the talks, keep chanting: ‘Death to America.’ ”

The United Nations voted to endorse the Iranian deal Monday morning.

Defense Secretary in Israel Admits Iran Sponsors Terror Group

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter met with Israeli military leadership on a hilltop overlooking Lebanon and said that the United States will help Israel counter Hezbollah terrorists funded by Iran following the nuclear deal.

Carter said it was just “one example” of how the U.S. could support Israel after the agreement with Iran over nuclear materials.

“Hezbollah is sponsored of course by Iran, which is why the United States will continue to help Israel counter Iranian malign influence in the region,” Carter told reporters after receiving an Israeli security briefing in the area.

Israeli defence minister Moshe Ya’alon was complimentary of Carter and America’s support of Israel in the past while not being supportive of the nuclear deal.

“We greatly disagree when it comes to the agreement with Iran and fear for the future in the aftermath of its signing,” Ya’alon said. “Yet we discuss this issue in a fully open manner, alongside many other issues of great importance.”

Carter agreed that they can disagree over the deal but see common ground while making a second statement that Iran is funding terrorists.

“Friends can disagree about whether it will work,” he said, “and we will be watching Iran very closely to see. But there’s no disagreement about the ultimate objective. We cannot let Iran have nuclear weapons. And there’s no disagreement about the threats Israel sees every day from Iran’s destabilizing activities, from terrorists like Hezbollah and Hamas and [the Islamic State group.]”

Carter is scheduled to meet Tuesday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.