The Number of Supporters for the Iran Agreement in the U.S. Senate Reaches 38

Michael Bennet, a Democratic senator from Colorado, announced his support for the nuclear agreement with Iran, bringing the number of supporters in the U.S. Senate to 38. However, Ben Cardin, another Democratic senator from Maryland, opposed the agreement. According to Reuters, Senator Bennet stated on Friday, September 4, "Our main goal is to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, ensure the security of Israel, and prevent another war in the Middle East. Although this agreement has flaws, it is an important step towards achieving these goals." Republicans, who hold the majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, are strongly opposed to the nuclear agreement with Iran and have stated they will reject it. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama has warned that he will veto any congressional opposition to the agreement. Supporters of the Iran nuclear agreement in the U.S. Senate need 41 votes to prevent its rejection. In other words, if the supportive votes reach 41, President Obama will not need to use his veto power to approve the agreement. However, if the agreement is rejected in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, the President can veto this congressional action, and to maintain Obama's veto, he needs the support of 34 senators. Concurrently with Senator Michael Bennet's announcement of support, Senator Ben Cardin has declared his opposition to the agreement. According to CNN, Cardin, who is Jewish, is the third Democratic senator to oppose the Iran nuclear agreement. This member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee stated, "After a lengthy study of this (agreement), I will vote against it." Cardin has said that Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons would lead to instability in the region and the world. He added, "Once sanctions are lifted, reapplying these sanctions to prevent Iran's nuclear breakout will be very difficult. If Iran wants to rush towards building a nuclear weapon, then the likelihood of military options being considered will also increase." In this context, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry also told CNN that it is very clear that to maintain the President's veto, 34 votes in the Senate are sufficient, but our approach is not to settle for this. We will continue to encourage members of Congress until the last moment. Kerry emphasized, "We hope that the number of supporters for the agreement with Iran in Congress will increase. Of course, the current vote is enough to maintain the President's veto. But this does not satisfy us." The U.S. Secretary of State further warned about the international consequences of Congress unilaterally rejecting the Iran nuclear agreement. Before Cardin, Chuck Schumer and Bob Menendez, two Democratic senators, had publicly expressed their opposition to the Iran agreement. In the House of Representatives, supporters need a total of 146 votes, and so far more than 90 Democrats, including a group of senior representatives, have declared their support for the agreement.