White House Reiterates Veto of Congressional Bill on Iran Agreement

One day before the vote on the nuclear agreement with Iran in the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the White House reiterated its opposition to congressional intervention and stated that it would veto any congressional bill regarding this matter. Josh Earnest, the White House spokesman, emphasized in his press conference on Monday, April 13, that any congressional bill concerning the nuclear agreement with Iran would be vetoed by President Barack Obama. Both the House of Representatives and the Senate, where Republicans hold a majority in both chambers, are seeking to pass a bill that would require congressional approval for the nuclear agreement with Iran. In the bill that is set to be voted on Tuesday, April 14, the lifting of sanctions against Iran must be contingent upon congressional approval. Supporters of this bill have expressed hope of securing at least 67 votes from senators to protect the bill from a presidential veto. The vote on this bill was initially scheduled for last month but was postponed by Senate members until mid-April. John Kerry, the U.S. Secretary of State, is attempting to persuade Congress to trust him and the Obama administration in the upcoming two and a half months and to facilitate the achievement of a nuclear agreement with Iran by attending separate sessions in the Senate and House of Representatives. Mr. Kerry is scheduled to speak directly with Congress members on Monday in the House and on Tuesday in the Senate regarding this matter. He will be accompanied by Ernest Moniz, the Secretary of Energy, Jack Lew, the Secretary of the Treasury, and a representative from U.S. intelligence agencies in these two sessions. One of Secretary Kerry's goals in these meetings is to convince Congress members to delay the vote on the Corker bill. Based on the proposal put forth by Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, if a nuclear agreement with Iran is reached, Congress will have sixty days to review the agreement and express its opinion on it. During this sixty-day period, the Obama administration will not be allowed to lift major sanctions against Tehran, and the issue of lifting sanctions must also be approved by Congress. Five days ago, President Obama discussed this matter with Senator Corker in a phone call. According to the White House, Mr. Obama reiterated his general view in the call on April 8 that a 'principled approach to diplomacy' is the best way to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. On the other hand, Kevin McCarthy, the House Majority Leader, also stated on Monday that he informed Bob Corker that if the bill regarding the agreement with Iran is approved in the Senate, the House of Representatives would also vote in favor of it. Kevin McCarthy is the second-highest-ranking Republican in Congress after John Boehner, the Speaker of the House. Iran and the 1+5 group have set a deadline to reach a comprehensive nuclear agreement by July 1 of this year. Meanwhile, officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran have warned that reaching an agreement is contingent upon the simultaneous lifting of all sanctions with the implementation of the agreement.