Republicans fail to derail Iran nuclear deal

Republican Senators failed to derail the nuclear deal with Iran, while US President Barack Obama describes it as “a victory of diplomacy”.

Some 42 Democrats and independents voted against the draft law supported by the Republicans to derail the nuclear deal, meaning they failed to gather the 60 votes needed to pass the bill to object to the deal.

Democratic Senators said that the vote thwarted efforts in the Republican-dominated Congress to abort the deal.

Obama praised the Senate vote, saying in a statement issued by the White House: “Today, 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.”

Lawmakers still have until 17 September to evaluate the deal with Iran, but the result of the vote in the Senate has made these discussions meaningless and weak.

British, French, and German leaders expressed their confidence yesterday in the deal that was reached between the global superpowers and Iran, announcing their support for it in an article published in the Washington Post.

Obama has insisted that the deal is the best way to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, while his critics, including Democrats, said the agreement’s terms are not binding enough for the long term and that it would allow Tehran to possess weapons once the duration of the agreement comes to an end.