President Obama phoned Republican Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker on Wednesday, ramping up outreach to the lawmaker most capable of scuttling any nuclear deal finalized with Iran.
Obama’s call to Corker comes as the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee attempts to assemble a veto-proof majority behind a bill that would give Congress an up-or-down vote on any nuclear accord with Tehran.
“They have obvious differences, but the president made the case to him once again that the president believes that this principled approach to diplomacy is the best way for us to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon,” Earnest said of the phone call. “The conversation was not an opportunity for the two men to negotiate the terms of any sort of legislation, but rather just an opportunity for the president to speak directly to the chairman to make — to underscore his view about the opportunity that now exists.”
The White House is asking lawmakers, including a sizable number of Democrats, to back off as administration officials work to finalize a deal with Iran before the end of June.
However, the framework struck with Tehran is proving politically problematic for the White House, with even Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. — expected to take over Sen. Harry Reid’s leadership post — calling for congressional approval of the nuclear pact.
The parameters of the deal being negotiated limit Iran’s nuclear capabilities in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.
While Obama would fulfill his promise of keeping Iran from building a bomb during his presidency, he acknowledged that about a decade from now, Tehran would have the capability to do so in just a few months.
“In years 13 and 14, it is possible that those breakout times would have been much shorter, but at that point, we have much better ideas about what it is that their program involves,” Obama told NPR. “We have much more insight into their capabilities. And the option of a future president to take action if, in fact, [their desire] to obtain a nuclear weapon is undiminished.”
