Senior Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer Opposes Nuclear Agreement

Senior Senator Chuck Schumer, who is likely to become the future leader of the Democratic minority in the U.S. Senate, has expressed his opposition to the nuclear agreement between world powers and Iran. In addition to this senior senator, Eliot Engel, a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives and a fellow party member of Barack Obama, the President of the United States, has also announced that he will vote against this agreement in the congressional vote. According to the Associated Press, Senator Schumer stated in a statement issued on Thursday night, August 6, that it is 'highly likely' that the Islamic Republic will not become a 'moderate' government with the agreement reached, but will use it to pursue its 'diabolical goals.' Mr. Schumer added that after 'serious studies and careful consideration,' he concluded that he 'must' vote against the nuclear agreement. Thus, Chuck Schumer has become the first Democratic senator to officially announce his opposition to the nuclear agreement. Eliot Engel, a senior Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has also stated that he will vote against this agreement. Meanwhile, Kirsten Gillibrand and Jeanne Shaheen, two Democratic senators, have expressed their support for the nuclear agreement. Although most Democrats who have expressed their opinions about the agreement so far have been in favor of it, the party is in the minority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and President Obama's administration needs their strong support to prevent a negative vote in Congress. AIPAC, the powerful pro-Israel lobby in the United States, has launched a wide campaign to reject this agreement in Congress. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also mobilized all his and his government's efforts to reject this agreement, an issue that has even drawn a negative reaction from the President of that country. Meanwhile, the Obama administration has asked supporters of this agreement to urge congressional representatives not to reject it. Josh Earnest, the White House spokesman, has also stated: 'We do not need Congress to approve this agreement; we just need Congress not to undermine it.' The President of the United States has warned that if the nuclear agreement is rejected in Congress, the only option left to confront Iran's nuclear program would be 'war.' However, senior Senator John McCain, from the Republican Party, has stated that 'we must dispel the notion that the only remaining option in the absence of an agreement is war.' Congress has four weeks to approve or reject the comprehensive nuclear agreement. If Congress votes negatively, Barack Obama can veto it unless at least two-thirds of Congress members vote against it.