President Barack Obama on Tuesday hailed a historic nuclear deal reached between world powers and Iran, emphasizing that Iran's path to a bomb is verifiably cut off. While the president encouraged a robust debate in Congress, he also threatened to veto any attempt to prevent the deal's implementation.
Speaking at the White House Tuesday morning shortly after negotiators in Vienna announced the agreement, Obama said the deal is an "opportunity to move in a new direction" and would act as a safeguard to prevent a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.
"This deal is not built on trust," Obama said. "It is built on verification."
Obama said the deal "meets every single one of the bottom lines we talked about this spring," meaning Tehran will not develop its nuclear weapon program, will not produce weapons-grade plutonium, will shut down centrifuges and get rid of 98 percent of its enriched uranium stockpile, according to CBS News.
Even though the P5+1 world powers - Russia, China, France, the U.K., the U.S. and Germany - support the deal, Obama must now work to sell virtues of the accord to a skeptical Congress, which has 60 days to assess the agreement and vote yea or nay or take no action.
"It's important that the American people and members of Congress get a full opportunity to review the deal," Obama said. "I welcome a robust debate in Congress on this issue, and I welcome scrutiny of the details of this agreement," however, he said, "I will veto any legislation that prevents the full implementation of this deal."
Lawmakers are expected to focus efforts on whether to pursue legislation to impose new sanctions on Iran or prevent the president from removing current sanctions, according to The Associated Press.
Congress could very well end up voting to reject the deal, or pass legislation to maintain the sanctions already in place against Iran, however, it's unlikely that resistance efforts will have enough Democratic support to override a presidential veto, according to Politico.
Republican presidential candidates were quick to condemn the nuclear agreement, with Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina going so far as to say that the deal is "akin to declaring war on Israel and the Sunni Arabs," reported The Hill.
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin both said the next president must undo the agreement and vowed to fight tooth and nail against the deal in Congress, according to Bloomberg.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz also released a statement, saying, "Thankfully, it is not a done deal ... I urge all my fellow citizens to speak out and let their elected leaders know that even if President Obama won't see it, we know the leaders of the Islamic Republic who lead crowds in chants of 'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel' are not our partners in peace, and must not be put on the path to a nuclear bomb."
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio said the "unacceptable" deal will not make the world less dangerous but rather will provide "billions in sanctions relief while paving the way for a nuclear Iran" and "fuel a nuclear arms race around the world," according to the Columbus Dispatch. "If it's as bad a deal as I think it is, we'll do everything we can to stop it," he said.
Some Democrats even joined in to criticize the deal. Rep. Steve Israel, the highest ranking Jewish Democrat in the House, said, "I was skeptical at the beginning of this process, and I remain skeptical of the Iranians. In the fall, there will be a vote on this deal, and my obligation is to review every word, sentence and paragraph of the deal to ensure it satisfies my continued concerns," reported AP.
Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey, a former ranking member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said it appears that the deal "ultimately legitimizes Iran as a threshold nuclear state. I'm concerned the red lines we drew have turned into green lights: that Iran will be required only to limit rather than eliminate its nuclear program, while the international community will be required to lift the sanctions."
The foreign relations committees in both chambers are expected to quickly schedule hearings to review the deal, but it's unlikely that Congress will take formal action until after the August recess, according to AP.
