White House officials have begun to show more openness to accept compromise legislation that would allow Congress to play an oversight role in any deal made with Iran over its nuclear programs.
“There’s a recognition that Congress is going to take some sort of vote after negotiations are complete,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told the Wall Street Journal Sunday. The White House’s outreach is “ratcheting up by the hour.”
Obama’s administration still opposes legislation that would require congressional approval of any deal reached. However, White House officials have had to consider a compromise with Congress because of widespread bipartisan support for such a rule.
Lawmakers have already prepared bipartisan legislation that would require congressional approval of any deal. The Senate Committee on Foreign Relations plans to mark up its version of the bill on April 14, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has already promised it a vote.
Lawmakers have also prepared a bill that would impose additional sanctions on Iran if no agreement is reached by July.
Such legislation has added necessity after Iranian officials reversed a tentative agreement Sunday evening and said it was no longer willing to ship its billions of dollars worth of uranium out of the country, a critical component of the deal, the New York Times reported.
“The export of stocks of enriched uranium is not in our program, and we do not intend sending them abroad,” the official, Abbas Araqchi, told the Iranian media, according to Agence France-Presse. “There is no question of sending the stocks abroad.”
Previously, Bloomberg reported that both sides would need to allow more compromise on its demands to reach an agreement.
The “other side must make serious decisions,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
Similarly, U.K. Foreign Minister Philip Hammond told reporters: “Iran has to take a deep breath and take tough decisions.”
Failure of an agreement could increase the risk of the U.S. or Israel taking military action to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons.
