Congress must scour final Iran nuke deal, Senator says

Congressional scrutiny and approval of any nuclear agreement with Iran are essential and will help ensure the deal isn't a bad one, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Sunday.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said Congress has a responsibility to scour the details of a final plan — including any classified annexes — ask the Obama administration hard questions and then vote on it. Negotiators announced on Thursday a framework deal, which would be finalized by June 30.

“It's very important that Congress is in the middle of this, understanding, teasing out, asking those important questions,” Corker said.

President Barack Obama told The New York Times in a weekend interview that he insists on preserving the president's right to enter into binding agreements with foreign powers without congressional approval. But he praised Corker as “somebody who is sincerely concerned about this issue and is a good and decent man.”

Speaking on “Fox News Sunday,” Corker sought to counter Obama's assertion that partisan politics in Washington could derail the landmark agreement to curb Iran's bomb-capable nuclear technology.

Congressional oversight “doesn't mean there won't be a deal,” Corker said. “We just set in place a process to insure that if there's a deal, it's a deal that will stand the test of time, that will keep Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.”

Obama told the Times: “My hope is that we can find something that allows Congress to express itself but does not encroach on traditional presidential prerogatives — and ensures that, if in fact we get a good deal, that we can go ahead and implement it.”

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to meet April 14 to consider Corker's legislation to ensure that Congress debates and signs off on any pact. The bill requires the president to transmit, within five days of reaching a final deal, the text of the full agreement along with materials related to its implementation.

With key elements still to be finalized, the framework agreement sealed by U.S.-led world powers describes a program for stunting Iran's capacity to produce nuclear weapons while giving Tehran quick access to assets and markets now blocked by international sanctions.

In defending the framework and a potential final pact, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz cited what he called “unprecedented access and transparency” into Iran's nuclear activities that will allow the U.S. and its partner negotiators to know almost instantly should Iran try to evade the oversight. This is a long-term arrangement, he stressed, with requirements lasting a quarter century or longer.

“We'll have eyes on the entire supply chain of uranium,” Moniz said on CBS’ “Face The Nation.” '“Going back to mines, the mills, we'll have continuous surveillance of centrifuge production.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criticized the framework as deeply flawed and a threat to Israel's very existence. He is urging negotiators to improve the agreement or scuttle it.

Other Republicans have echoed Netanyahu's concerns. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Sunday the proposed deal is a bad one — but it was the best one Obama could get because the Iranians don't fear or respect him. Graham said he favors waiting until a new president, Democratic or Republican, takes office in January 2017 and then trying again. In the meantime, economic and financial sanctions would stay in place.

“Is there a better deal to be had? I think so,” Graham said on “Face The Nation.”

But a senior Senate Democrat, Dianne Feinstein, warned that bashing the proposed deal could backfire on Netanyahu. The Israeli prime minister and other critics of the framework agreement have offered no viable alternatives, she said on CNN's “State of the Union.” Feinstein said imposing more and stiffer economic sanctions would only drive Iran's nuclear program deeper underground and make it more difficult to monitor.

“I wish he would contain himself,” Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said of Netanyahu.

The Associated Press

Congressional scrutiny and approval of any nuclear agreement with Iran are essential and will help ensure the deal isn't a bad one, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Sunday.

Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said Congress has a responsibility to scour the details of a final plan — including any classified annexes — ask the Obama administration hard questions and then vote on it. Negotiators announced on Thursday a framework deal, which would be finalized by June 30.

"It's very important that Congress is in the middle of this, understanding, teasing out, asking those important questions," Corker said.

President Barack Obama told The New York Times in a weekend interview that he insists on preserving the president's right to enter into binding agreements with foreign powers without congressional approval. But he praised Corker as "somebody who is sincerely concerned about this issue and is a good and decent man."

Speaking on "Fox News Sunday," Corker sought to counter Obama's assertion that partisan politics in Washington could derail the landmark agreement to curb Iran's bomb-capable nuclear technology.

Congressional oversight "doesn't mean there won't be a deal," Corker said. "We just set in place a process to insure that if there's a deal, it's a deal that will stand the test of time, that will keep Iran from getting a nuclear weapon."

Obama told the Times: "my hope is that we can find something that allows Congress to express itself but does not encroach on traditional presidential prerogatives -- and ensures that, if in fact we get a good deal, that we can go ahead and implement it."

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to meet April 14 to consider Corker's legislation to ensure that Congress debates and signs off on any pact. The bill requires the president to transmit, within five days of reaching a final deal, the text of the full agreement along with materials related to its implementation.

With key elements still to be finalized, the framework agreement sealed by U.S.-led world powers describes a program for stunting Iran's capacity to produce nuclear weapons while giving Tehran quick access to assets and markets now blocked by international sanctions.

In defending the framework and a potential final pact, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz cited what he called "unprecedented access and transparency" into Iran's nuclear activities that will allow the U.S. and its partner negotiators to know almost instantly should Iran try to evade the oversight. This is a long-term arrangement, he stressed, with requirements lasting a quarter century or longer.

"We'll have eyes on the entire supply chain of uranium," Moniz said on CBS' "Face The Nation." "Going back to mines, the mills, we'll have continuous surveillance of centrifuge production."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criticized the framework as deeply flawed and a threat to Israel's very existence. He is urging negotiators to improve the agreement or scuttle it.

Other Republicans have echoed Netanyahu's concerns. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Sunday the proposed deal is a bad one — but it was the best one Obama could get because the Iranians don't fear or respect him. Graham said he favors waiting until a new president, Democratic or Republican, takes office in January 2017 and then trying again. In the meantime, economic and financial sanctions would stay in place.

"Is there a better deal to be had? I think so," Graham said on CBS' "Face The Nation."

But a senior Senate Democrat, Dianne Feinstein, warned that bashing the proposed deal could backfire on Netanyahu. The Israeli prime minister and other critics of the framework agreement have offered no viable alternatives, she said on CNN's "State of the Union." Feinstein said imposing more and stiffer economic sanctions would only drive Iran's nuclear program deeper underground and make it more difficult to monitor.

"I wish he would contain himself," Feinstein, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said of Netanyahu.

 The Associated Press