U.S.
Mike Segar / Reuters
Thousands of protesters gathered in Times Square Wednesday evening to demand that Congress vote down the proposed U.S. deal with Iran.
As the crowd loomed behind police barricades, chants of "Kill the deal!" could be heard for blocks. The event, billed as the "Stop Iran Rally" consisted mainly of pro-Israel supporters, though organizers said it represents Americans of all faiths and political convictions.
Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, co-organizer of the rally, said that there were 10,000 people in the crowd. There was no official crowd estimate available from police.
The participants wanted Congress to reject the deal under which the U.S. would agree to lift economic sanctions against Iran in return for measures to prevent the country from building nuclear weapons. Many expressed support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who called it a “mistake of historic proportions.”
President Barack Obama has said the U.S. considers Iran an adversary whose activities will be closely monitored.
The protest came as Secretary of State John Kerry and other senior officials conducted a closed-door briefing about the deal for members of Congress. Kerry, Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew are to appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday to answer questions about the deal that Congress is expected to vote on in September.
The United Nations Security Council on Monday endorsed the deal, which U.S. lawmakers voted in May to tie to Congressional review, a bill that Obama reluctantly signed. The deal does not need Congressional approval to take effect, but Republicans are expected to try and sink it with legislation that would block Obama from lifting sanctions imposed by Congress.
At the rally, Alan Dershowitz, a Harvard Law School professor emeritus, said he was “opposing the deal as a liberal Democrat.” He said he believed democracy was “ignored” because the Obama administration negotiated the deal without congressional input.
“That is not the way democracy should operate,” he told the crowd.
George Pataki, the former three-term Republican governor of New York who is a making a bid for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination said, “This is a God-awful deal, this must be rejected. Congress must do its job and stand up for the American people, stand up for our safety and say no to this Iranian deal.”
Desiree Soper of Long Island said she was drawn to the protest because she wanted to voice her opposition.
“I don't trust Iran,” she said. “They'll find loopholes.”
Al Jazeera with The Associated Press
Landmark agreement the product of almost two years of negotiations to address dispute between Tehran and the West
The Israeli Prime Minister strongly criticizes the agreement. Imtiaz Tyab reports from West Jerusalem.
International consensus makes reversing the deal more difficult for its domestic U.S. critics
A victory for negotiations, international law and reason will pay dividends for years
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