Congress is warning President Obama that it will reject any deal with Iran that allows Tehran to keep the capability to develop a nuclear weapon or attempts to lift sanctions without the approval of lawmakers.
The bipartisan pressure on the president is intense as negotiators race to replace a year-old interim agreement by Monday’s deadline.
“Congress will not be satisfied with a bad deal,” Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Middle East and North Africa subcommittee, declared Thursday, adding that it would be unwise for the administration to try to bypass lawmakers on sanctions against Iran.
“The notion that sanctions can be lifted entirely without first coming back to Congress, after Congress has imposed those sanctions to begin with, is one that will be hard to pass muster here on the Hill.”