US President Barack Obama has overcome a major obstacle in the Senate on Iranian nuclear deal as the number of Senators supporting the historic agreement has increased to 42.
"The administration is gratified by the growing support that we've seen in the US Congress for the international agreement to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters.
Four undecided Senators - Richard Blumenthal, Gary Peters, Ron Wyden and Maria Cantwell - lend their support to the Iranian nuclear deal on Tuesday. This means that the US President would no longer have to veto, even though opposition to the Iran deal enjoys majority support in the House and Senate.
"A band of undecided Senate Democrats broke in favour of the international nuclear deal with Iran on Tuesday, putting President Obama on the brink of one of the most significant victories of his presidency," The Washington Post said.
"What we hoped when the agreement was initially announced in mid-July is that members of Congress would carefully consider the contents of the agreement, take advantage of the opportunity that was extended by the administration to consult with those who negotiated the agreement in the first place, spend time with experts in the intel community and in our military establishment -- certainly our diplomatic corps -- to understand the consequences for the terms of the agreement," Earnest said yesterday.
"We feel gratified today, because the vast majority of those who did take time to consider the terms of the agreement and to participate in briefings and meetings, and in many cases, even hear firsthand from the President about what he believes are the most important aspects of the agreement, that those individuals have over the last couple of months indicated their plan to support the agreement before the United States Congress," said the White House spokesman.
Earnest said the Obama Administration expects all the senators who have supported the deal to also vote to block the disapproval motion. "We certainly would expect that those members of Congress who support the agreement to take the necessary steps in Congress to prevent Congress from undermining the agreement," he said.
"While the White House appeared to clinch a victory, Senate Democrats on Tuesday began their own procedural manoeuvring. They argued that the Republicans should move immediately to a final vote on the resolution, but one that would require 60 votes for adoption," The New York Times reported.
