Key US lawmaker opposes Iran nuclear deal

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin said on Friday he would vote against the nuclear agreement with Iran, lessening the chances that President Barack Obama can win enough votes to avoid having to use his veto power to protect the international agreement.

“This is a close call, but after a lengthy review, I will vote to disapprove the deal,” Cardin, the top Democrat on the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in an opinion column to be published in The Washington Post.

The Maryland lawmaker became the third Senate Democrat to announce his opposition. The others, Charles Schumer of New York and Robert Menendez of New Jersey, came out against it last month.

But the “yes” list in the Senate reached 38 on Friday, as Michael Bennet of Colorado announced his support for the deal. All of the lawmakers in favor are Democrats or independents who generally vote with them.

That left just five of Obama’s fellow Democrats in the chamber undecided, including Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Maria Cantwell of Washington, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Gary Peters of Michigan and Ron Wyden of Oregon.

Under a law co-written by Cardin and signed by Obama in May, Congress has until Sept. 17 to vote on a “resolution of disapproval” of the nuclear agreement, announced on July 14 between the United States, five other world powers and Tehran.

If such a resolution passed Congress and lawmakers overrode Obama’s promised veto, it would weaken the nuclear deal by eliminating the president’s ability to waive many sanctions on Iran, a key component of the pact.

Credit: Reuters

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