Obama secures key vote to support Iran nuclear deal

US President Barack Obama yesterday secured the minimum number of Senate votes needed to uphold his presidential veto against any Congressional resolution opposing the landmark nuclear deal with Iran.

Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski announced her support for the agreement yesterday, becoming the 32nd Senate Democrat, along with two independents, to back the nuclear deal.

“No deal is perfect, especially one negotiated with the Iranian regime. I have concluded that this Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is the best option available to block Iran from having a nuclear bomb,” Mikulski said in a statement.

“For these reasons, I will vote in favour of this deal,” she added.

The vote constitutes a major blow to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who expressed his opposition to the nuclear deal and worked to block it at Congress.

Israel’s Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper yesterday quoted senior Israeli political sources as saying: “It was clear from the beginning that the odds to secure the opposition of two-thirds of the Senate were slim.”

“For this reason the Israeli strategy focused on the first round of votes which reflects the American public opinion, a majority of whom oppose the agreement.”

The newspaper stressed that Netanyahu and his advisers recently gave up the idea of securing the Senate’s opposition to the agreement.