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| John Kerry pushes back as Republicans attack Iran deal at Senate hearing | John Kerry pushes back as Republicans attack Iran deal at Senate hearing |
| (31 minutes later) | |
| Republicans in the US Senate on Thursday used the first public hearing on the nuclear deal with Iran to assail Barack Obama’s administration, telling top members of the president’s cabinet they had been “fleeced” and “bamboozled” by negotiations between six world powers and Tehran. | |
| Tension simmered from the outset of the hearing at the US Capitol, where secretary of state John Kerry, energy secretary Ernest Moniz and treasury secretary Jack Lew testified before the Senate foreign relations committee as part of their efforts to persuade lawmakers to support the landmark deal announced in Vienna last week. | Tension simmered from the outset of the hearing at the US Capitol, where secretary of state John Kerry, energy secretary Ernest Moniz and treasury secretary Jack Lew testified before the Senate foreign relations committee as part of their efforts to persuade lawmakers to support the landmark deal announced in Vienna last week. |
| Related: Republicans fume over Iran nuclear deal but hope of undermining accord is slim | Related: Republicans fume over Iran nuclear deal but hope of undermining accord is slim |
| But Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, showed no signs of wavering from their opposition to the agreement aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Tennessee senator Bob Corker, the Republican who chairs the committee, opened the hearing with sharp criticism of a deal that he said only codified the industrialization of Iran’s nuclear program. | But Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, showed no signs of wavering from their opposition to the agreement aimed at preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. Tennessee senator Bob Corker, the Republican who chairs the committee, opened the hearing with sharp criticism of a deal that he said only codified the industrialization of Iran’s nuclear program. |
| Addressing Kerry, Corker said: “From my prescriptive, Mr Secretary – I’m sorry – not unlike a hotel guest that leaves with only a hotel bathrobe on his back, I believe you have been fleeced. | Addressing Kerry, Corker said: “From my prescriptive, Mr Secretary – I’m sorry – not unlike a hotel guest that leaves with only a hotel bathrobe on his back, I believe you have been fleeced. |
| “In the process of being fleeced, what you have done here is you have turned Iran from being a pariah to Congress being a pariah.” | “In the process of being fleeced, what you have done here is you have turned Iran from being a pariah to Congress being a pariah.” |
| Senator Jim Risch, a Republican from Idaho, piled on by telling the the three secretaries: “With all due respect, you guys have been bamboozled and the American people are going to pay.” | Senator Jim Risch, a Republican from Idaho, piled on by telling the the three secretaries: “With all due respect, you guys have been bamboozled and the American people are going to pay.” |
| The combative tone among most of the Republicans present was not entirely unexpected – the party has been almost uniformly opposed to the negotiations from the outset – but it confirmed that the Obama administration will have to rely on Democrats to vote in support of the president and his right to veto any efforts at scuttling the deal. | The combative tone among most of the Republicans present was not entirely unexpected – the party has been almost uniformly opposed to the negotiations from the outset – but it confirmed that the Obama administration will have to rely on Democrats to vote in support of the president and his right to veto any efforts at scuttling the deal. |
| Congress is now in a 60-day review period, after which both the Senate and the House of Representatives will vote on a resolution that registers either approval or disapproval of the deal. A two-thirds majority would be required in both chambers to override a presidential veto. | Congress is now in a 60-day review period, after which both the Senate and the House of Representatives will vote on a resolution that registers either approval or disapproval of the deal. A two-thirds majority would be required in both chambers to override a presidential veto. |
| Kerry, Moniz and Lew have been making the rounds on Capitol Hill as they seek to sell the deal amid bipartisan skepticism. The three secretaries emphasized in Thursday’s hearing that critics were missing the point: the objective was to hold back the nuclear program that Iran has already established, they argued, and any suggestions that more sanctions would achieve that were nothing short of naive. | Kerry, Moniz and Lew have been making the rounds on Capitol Hill as they seek to sell the deal amid bipartisan skepticism. The three secretaries emphasized in Thursday’s hearing that critics were missing the point: the objective was to hold back the nuclear program that Iran has already established, they argued, and any suggestions that more sanctions would achieve that were nothing short of naive. |
| “Folks, they already have what they want. They got it 10 years ago or more. They already conquered the fuel cycle,” Kerry told the senators, while adding that Iran had enough fissile material “for 10 to 12 bombs” when the negotiations began. | “Folks, they already have what they want. They got it 10 years ago or more. They already conquered the fuel cycle,” Kerry told the senators, while adding that Iran had enough fissile material “for 10 to 12 bombs” when the negotiations began. |
| “Some sort of unicorn arrangement involving Iran’s complete capitulation … that is a fantasy. The fact is that, whether we like it or not, Iran has developed experience with a nuclear fuel cycle, and we can’t bomb that knowledge away, nor can we sanction that knowledge away.” | “Some sort of unicorn arrangement involving Iran’s complete capitulation … that is a fantasy. The fact is that, whether we like it or not, Iran has developed experience with a nuclear fuel cycle, and we can’t bomb that knowledge away, nor can we sanction that knowledge away.” |
| Republicans nonetheless bristled at the Obama administration, suggesting repeatedly that the US had given away the store and Iran could not be trusted to comply with the deal’s terms. | Republicans nonetheless bristled at the Obama administration, suggesting repeatedly that the US had given away the store and Iran could not be trusted to comply with the deal’s terms. |
| Given the limited options by which Congress can stop the agreement in its tracks, Florida senator Marco Rubio revived the threat of a Republican president both revoking the deal and reimposing sanctions. Rubio, a top contender for the Republican presidential nomination, has already said he would do so if elected in 2016. | Given the limited options by which Congress can stop the agreement in its tracks, Florida senator Marco Rubio revived the threat of a Republican president both revoking the deal and reimposing sanctions. Rubio, a top contender for the Republican presidential nomination, has already said he would do so if elected in 2016. |
| “Even if this deal narrowly avoids congressional defeat because we can’t get to that veto-proof majority, the Iranian regime and the world should know that this deal is your deal with Iran, meaning your’s and this administration’s, and the next president is under no legal or moral obligation to live up to it,” Rubio told Kerry. | “Even if this deal narrowly avoids congressional defeat because we can’t get to that veto-proof majority, the Iranian regime and the world should know that this deal is your deal with Iran, meaning your’s and this administration’s, and the next president is under no legal or moral obligation to live up to it,” Rubio told Kerry. |
| The agreement requires that the Iranians eliminate 98% of their uranium stockpile and remove two-thirds of their uranium enriching centrifuges. The International Atomic Energy Agency will be tasked with overseeing the verification process, which Moniz has said could take anywhere from six to nine months. | The agreement requires that the Iranians eliminate 98% of their uranium stockpile and remove two-thirds of their uranium enriching centrifuges. The International Atomic Energy Agency will be tasked with overseeing the verification process, which Moniz has said could take anywhere from six to nine months. |
| Democratic support for the deal may well rest on the extent to which a robust verification process exists. Several Democrats identified assurances of Iran’s compliance as key to winning their vote following closed-door briefings with the same three secretaries on Wednesday. | Democratic support for the deal may well rest on the extent to which a robust verification process exists. Several Democrats identified assurances of Iran’s compliance as key to winning their vote following closed-door briefings with the same three secretaries on Wednesday. |
| “My lingering questions are really just about making sure that the inspections are as rigorous as the administration purports them to be,” Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut who sits on the foreign relations committee, told reporters. “If the reality matches up with the administration’s claims, then I’ll be a supporter of the deal.” | “My lingering questions are really just about making sure that the inspections are as rigorous as the administration purports them to be,” Senator Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut who sits on the foreign relations committee, told reporters. “If the reality matches up with the administration’s claims, then I’ll be a supporter of the deal.” |
| Moniz sought to quell those concerns during Thursday’s hearing, telling the assembled committee members that the deal was “hard-nosed”. | Moniz sought to quell those concerns during Thursday’s hearing, telling the assembled committee members that the deal was “hard-nosed”. |
| “The technical underpinnings of this deal are solid,” the energy secretary said. “This deal is not built on trust … I can assure you this is not what Iran wanted.” | “The technical underpinnings of this deal are solid,” the energy secretary said. “This deal is not built on trust … I can assure you this is not what Iran wanted.” |
| Initial polling of the American public has been decidedly mixed, with many harboring skepticism that the deal can be enforced. One poll found that while a slim majority – 56% – supported the agreement, 64% did not trust Iran to abide by it. Another survey found that among the 79% of Americans who had heard about the deal, just 38% approved while 48% disapproved. | Initial polling of the American public has been decidedly mixed, with many harboring skepticism that the deal can be enforced. One poll found that while a slim majority – 56% – supported the agreement, 64% did not trust Iran to abide by it. Another survey found that among the 79% of Americans who had heard about the deal, just 38% approved while 48% disapproved. |
| Kerry cautioned against viewing the matter through the lens of just the US. The other world powers involved in the deal, he said, were “not dumb”. | Kerry cautioned against viewing the matter through the lens of just the US. The other world powers involved in the deal, he said, were “not dumb”. |
| “They’re experts – every one of them,” he said. | “They’re experts – every one of them,” he said. |
| The choice, Kerry added, was between an agreement “that will ensure Iran’s nuclear agreement is limited, rigorously scrutinized and fully peaceful, or no deal at all”. | The choice, Kerry added, was between an agreement “that will ensure Iran’s nuclear agreement is limited, rigorously scrutinized and fully peaceful, or no deal at all”. |
| Referring to concerns about Iran’s ability to achieve a nuclear weapon in years beyond the scope of the deal, he said: “If we walk away, year 15 or 16 or 20 starts tomorrow.” | Referring to concerns about Iran’s ability to achieve a nuclear weapon in years beyond the scope of the deal, he said: “If we walk away, year 15 or 16 or 20 starts tomorrow.” |