An overwhelming majority of House Democrats are lining up in support of President Barack Obama’s negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.
One hundred and fifty members, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, are urging the administration to “stay the course” and “exhaust every avenue” in its bid to craft a diplomatic deal to settle the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear work, the Hill reported.
“If the United States were to abandon negotiations or cause their collapse, not only would we fail to peacefully prevent a nuclear armed Iran, we would make that outcome more likely,” the Democrats wrote in a letter to Obama on Thursday. Iran denies the allegation that it may have been seeking to develop a nuclear weapons capability under the guise of a civilian program, saying its activities are meant only for peaceful applications such as generating electricity.
While the letter is addressed to the White House, the message sends a warning shot to Republican leaders that Democrats could likely sustain a presidential veto if the Republicans vote to disapprove a deal negotiated by the US, Iran and five other nations. In their letter, the Democrats are pushing hard for a diplomatic victory while warning that a failure of the negotiations could lead to war.
“War itself will not make us safe,” the lawmakers wrote. “We must allow our negotiating team the space and time necessary to build on the progress made in the political framework (referring to a preliminary agreement reached between Iran and the major powers in the Swiss city of Lausanne on April 2) and turn it into a long-term, verifiable agreement.”
