Republicans' New Plan in the U.S. Senate Regarding Iran Agreement Fails

The new majority Republican plan in the U.S. Senate to condition the Iran nuclear agreement on 'recognition of Israel' and 'release of American prisoners' was introduced on Thursday, September 17, but the minority supporters of the agreement managed to prevent a vote on it through a 'procedural' action. In this vote, 53 senators voted in favor of the amendment while 45 senators voted against it. Supporters of the Iran nuclear agreement in the U.S. Senate once again used this 'procedural' action to block a vote on the sufficiency of negotiations regarding this matter. If the Republican majority members in the Senate could have garnered 60 votes in favor during the vote, the sufficiency of negotiations on this amendment would have been declared, and the Senate could have proceeded to vote on it. The action of the minority supporters of the nuclear agreement in the U.S. Senate caused the Republicans' efforts to reject this agreement to once again yield no results. Earlier reports indicated that Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader in the Senate, presented this plan for a vote, which stipulated that the approval of the nuclear agreement would be conditional on Tehran recognizing Israel and also on the release of American citizens imprisoned in Iran. After the rejection of this amendment, Harry Reid, the Democratic minority leader in the Senate, described the vote on this amendment as a 'waste of the Senate's time.' In recent weeks, the Democratic and independent minority supporting the Iran agreement in the U.S. Senate successfully prevented a Senate vote on the sufficiency of negotiations regarding the nuclear agreement twice, making it difficult for the Senate to vote on the resolution opposing this agreement. Bob Menendez, a Democratic senator who is one of the main opponents of the nuclear agreement with Iran, also voted against this amendment. Reports indicate that Chuck Schumer, a Democratic senator from New York, who had previously expressed his opposition to the core nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers, also voted against this amendment. Today, Thursday, September 17, is the final deadline for the Senate to vote on the nuclear agreement with Iran. The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday, September 20, symbolically rejected the approval of the Iran nuclear agreement with six world powers (JCPOA) with 269 votes against and 162 votes in favor. However, considering the actions of the minority supporters of the agreement in the U.S. Senate to prevent a vote on this matter, the rejection of this agreement in the House of Representatives will not hinder the implementation of this agreement by the Barack Obama administration. Iran and six world powers reached a comprehensive agreement to resolve the Islamic Republic's nuclear dispute in Vienna on July 14. According to this agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran's nuclear program is limited, and in return, most international sanctions against Tehran will be lifted.