President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the flawed Iran nuclear deal on Tuesday was widely criticized by Democrats, their allies in the media, and even by some Republicans who were against the deal in 2015 and even voted against it.
A majority of the Senate opposed the Iran deal in 2015. But under Senate rules, Republicans needed 60 votes to proceed with a resolution opposing the agreement. They fell short as 42 Democrats voted to block consideration of the resolution.
So, why did our lawmakers vote on Obama’s flawed Iran deal, when it wasn’t even signed by Iranian officials?
On November 25, 2015, the National Review reported that President Obama didn’t require Iranian leaders to sign the nuclear deal that his team negotiated with the regime, and the deal is not “legally binding,” his administration acknowledged in a letter to Representative Mike Pompeo (R., Kan.) obtained by National Review.
“The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is not a treaty or an executive agreement, and is not a signed document,” wrote Julia Frifield, the State Department assistant secretary for legislative affairs, in the November 19 letter.
English Alarabiya – “The success of the JCPOA will depend not on whether it is legally binding or signed, but rather on the extensive verification measures we have put in place, as well as Iran’s understanding that we have the capacity to re-impose — and ramp up — our sanctions if Iran does not meet its commitments,” Frifield wrote to Pompeo.
President Hassan Rowhani said Saturday he opposes a parliamentary vote on the landmark nuclear deal reached with world powers because terms of the agreement would turn into legal obligations if passed by lawmakers.
Rowhani told a news conference that the deal was a political understanding reached with the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany, not a pact requiring parliamentary approval. The deal also says Iran would implement the terms voluntarily, he said.
The historic deal calls for limiting Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting economic sanctions.
“If the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is sent to (and passed by) parliament, it will create an obligation for the government. it will mean the president, who has not signed it so far, will have to sign it,” Rowhani said. “Why should we place an unnecessary legal restriction on the Iranian people?”
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