WASHINGTON—Senate Democrats voted to uphold the hard-fought nuclear accord with Iran on Thursday, overcoming ferocious GOP opposition and delivering President Barack Obama a legacy-making victory on his top foreign policy priority.
A disapproval resolution for the agreement fell two votes short of the 60 needed to move forward as Democratic and independent senators banded together against it. Although House Republicans continued to pursue 11th-hour strategies to derail the international accord, the outcome in the Senate guaranteed that the disapproval legislation would not reach Obama’s desk.
As a result, the nuclear deal will move forward unchecked by Congress. It is an improbable win by Obama in the face of unanimous opposition from Republicans who control Capitol Hill, GOP candidates seeking to replace him in the Oval Office, and the state of Israel and its allied lobbyists in the United States.
Beginning next week, Obama will be free to start scaling back U.S. sanctions to implement the agreement negotiated by Iran, the United States, and five other world powers. The accord aims to constrain Iran’s nuclear ambitions in exchange for hundreds of billions of dollars in relief from international sanctions.
“We have one goal in mind, shared by many nations around the world: to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon,” said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Senate Democrat. “I believe this agreement comes as close to achieving that as we can hope for at this moment.”
Republican Response
Frustrated Republicans railed against Democrats for using a procedural vote to block final passage of the disapproval resolution, and issued grim warnings about a deal they contend could serve only to enrich Tehran and leave it closer to building a bomb when constraints begin to ease in 10 or 15 years.
“To my Democratic friends: You own this. You own every ‘I’ and every ‘T’ and every bullet, and you own everything that is to follow,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).
