Obama Welcomes Senate Vote on Iran Nuclear Agreement
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – US President Barack Obama hailed a Senate vote blocking a disapproval resolution for Iran nuclear agreement as a "victory for diplomacy", media reports said.
"This vote is a victory for diplomacy, for American national security, and for the safety and security of the world," Obama said in a White House statement after Senate opponents of the pact failed to get the 60 votes necessary to advance a resolution of disapproval, Reuters reported on Thursday.
He termed the vote "an historic step forward."
"I am heartened that so many senators judged this deal on the merits, and am gratified by the strong support of lawmakers and citizens alike," Obama added.
The defeat came despite an intense $40 million lobbying campaign against the agreement, largely by conservative pro-Israel groups.
On Thursday, House members voted strictly along party lines, with 245 Republicans voting yes and 186 Democrats voting no, to pass a resolution finding that Obama had not complied with terms of the Iran nuclear review act he signed in May.
Some Republicans argued that the 60-day window for reviewing the deal had never opened because Obama had not sent Congress details of what they termed "secret side deals" regarding inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities.
The House was to vote on Friday on two other Iran-related measures, a resolution of approval of the Iran deal that Republicans hoped to defeat by a wide margin, and a separate one that would bar Obama from waiving sanctions.
But none of the three would have a direct impact on the nuclear pact similar to that of a disapproval resolution, a mechanism outlined in the Iran review act.