WASHINGTON (AP) – Secretary of State John Kerry sparred Tuesday with the lone Democratic senator to publicly oppose last month’s historic Iran nuclear deal, saying there was no way the U.S. could prevent American allies from doing business with Tehran if Congress were to reject the agreement.
Speaking across town in New York, Sen. Chuck Schumer disagreed and suggested Washington still could force the world into isolating the Iranians until they make deeper nuclear concessions.
The dispute goes to the heart of the questions that American lawmakers are considering as they prepare to vote on the nuclear accord.
If they were to shelve the deal – and override an expected presidential veto – they could severely complicate the Obama administration’s ability to honor its commitments to roll back economic sanctions on Iran. In exchange, Iran has agreed to a decade of tough restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program and a far more intrusive inspections regime.
Republicans are almost universally opposed at this point.