U.S. Sen. David Perdue: Iran nuclear deal not good enough

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, blasted the U.N. Security Council approval of the Iran nuclear agreement ahead of U.S. congressional review of the deal between Iran and the six world powers including the United States.

On Monday, the United Nations Security Council voted to back the nuclear deal.

“After capitulating to Iran’s demands, President Obama and Secretary Kerry sidelined the American people by advancing the Iran deal today in a United Nations Security Council vote without congressional review,” Perdue said Monday. “The Obama Administration claims this deal makes Americans safer and stops a nuclear Iran, when in reality it does neither.”

Perdue said he would work to build a veto-proof majority of the Senate to reject the deal. While the House can pass a resolution of disapproval that would keep the White House from dropping congressionally mandated sanctions against Iran with a simple majority vote, the Senate would need 60 votes to clear procedural hurdles.

If both houses were to pass a resolution of disapproval, a certain veto of the resolution by President Obama would require a two-thirds majority of each house to override. In the Senate, that means the 54 Republicans in the majority, if they vote together, would need 13 Democrats or independents to vote with them to override a veto, but first would need at least six to join them to pass a Senate resolution.

Congress, which received details of the deal over the weekend, has 60 days, which started Monday, to consider whether it wants to pass a resolution of disapproval before the Obama administration can waive the congressionally mandated sanctions.

“This deal lifts sanctions on Iran without requiring any real change in behavior by the Iranian regime,” Perdue said. “As Iranians still chant ‘death to America’ and ‘death to Israel’ in the streets, I’m skeptical of any deal that Iran touts as a win.

“Congress should react by sending a strong message to Tehran acknowledging this agreement isn’t good enough for the American people. As a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, I will work to build bipartisan consensus for the 67 (senate) votes needed to shut down this deal.”